“The key to protecting the environment is behavior change.” Irao holds an eco-competition for employees
Insurance company Irao
Campaigns for cleaning and greening the environment, sorting waste, collecting waste paper in schools, open classes for children, products made from recycled materials, commercials, the “Walk” campaign, etc. — employees of the Georgian insurance company Irao competed for a whole month for the title of the most environmentally friendly team.
The company has planned an environmental competition called ‘Green Challenge’ to raise awareness among employees about the importance of environmental protection and waste management.
The entire staff of the insurance company took part in the marathon, from department heads to junior staff.
About 300 employees joined 16 teams. Teams were recruited by department or type of activity.
In addition to good work, the teams were motivated by the main prize – a vacation in Kakheti at a prestigious hotel complex.
The eco-competition turned out to be so broad that even a month later, the jury was deliberating on the winner.
Here’s how it began.
Insurance company Irao and its green policy
Insurance company Irao has been operating in the Georgian market for 19 years. This is the only insurance company in Georgia that is a 100% member of the Vienna Insurance Group.
The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) was founded in the 19th century and still occupies a leading position in the insurance industry. Environmental protection is of paramount importance to the company, and in this direction it implements various interesting projects around the world every year.
“We, as a member of the Vienna Insurance Group, have long made sustainable development part of our strategy,” Vakhtang Dekanosidze, CEO of the insurance company Irao, says.
Before this competition, Irao held an annual Social Activism Day, he said.
Since 2011, it has been organized annually by the Vienna Insurance Group. On this day, employees of all companies in the group can spend one working day volunteering in support of good causes.
This day is observed by company employees from more than twenty countries. Every year, about 6 thousand people participate in various events.
The insurance company Irao, as a member company of the Vienna Insurance Group, supports projects such as “Protect, Recycle, Save!”, “Ride Without a Car”, the construction of a rehabilitation center of the “Monk Andria Foundation” together with social enterprises, as well as the Day of Social Activity various master classes, etc.
And that’s not all. The green policy is also felt in the Irao offices. Part of this policy includes minimizing single-use plastic products, saving water and electricity, and separating waste.
To minimize the amount of single-use plastic, Irao first changed its purchasing policies. The company has stopped using plastic water bottles during meetings and conferences. In addition, company employees were given reusable ceramic glasses and water bottles.
To reduce the number of plastic bags that the company was throwing away in large quantities, the number of trash cans was reduced, says Elene Margishvili, head of the company’s integrated marketing communications department. Whereas each room used to have one or more trash cans or bins, now there is only one trash can per floor.
“No matter how much trash the bins accumulated, cleaners still had to empty them every day, and thousands of bags were collected. This change has saved us up to 33,000 plastic bags per year.”
“Don’t use the elevator, walk. Save energy” – this sign is posted in the Irao office on all floors near the elevator.
The list of green actions in offices is extensive.
“We completely changed the lighting in the office and switched to energy-saving lighting. If it is not necessary, we do not print anything. We switched to electronic policies and replaced plastic cards. We are friends with CENN [an environmental company], there are bins on each floor for collecting and returning plastic, and we also hand over waste paper,” Elene says.
Eco-competition “Green Challenge”
Another part of this policy was the Green Challenge eco-competition, which was held for the first time this year.
The competition was announced in October, and within a month, the teams had to plan environmental activities and projects. All teams chose a captain who prepared a report and presentation of their activities.
Teams could work on any type of activity – cleaning the environment, planting trees, saving resources, collecting and recycling plastic and paper, walking and other creative solutions.
Teams were evaluated according to three criteria:
- Creative approach
- Teamwork
- Environmental impact
“If we look at various materials about corporate social responsibility, we see that people tend to do good deeds and take care of the environment. There was no exception here. Our employees at all positions joined in with great enthusiasm,” Dekanosidze says.
This was also felt in the presentations the teams prepared for the report. That is why the jury debated for several hours about the winner.
“Many people planned their activities in such a way that outsiders were included in them. Some, for example, gave public lectures. In the end, the results were very impressive. We didn’t expect such a number and variety of events,” Elene says.
In the end, the jury named the “Green Vision” team as the winner.
The list of team activities is impressive:
- Team members launched a campaign to save resources in the office. For example, they began to save water, electricity, paper, and abandoned plastic.
- They launched the “Walk” challenge. The team members walked around, filmed videos, and shared them on social media, and they all invited two people from their circle.
- They cleaned up areas on the outskirts of Tbilisi, for example the area around the Tbilisi Sea or the surrounding area of Avlabari;
- They cleaned the environs in Kutaisi, Telavi, and Tbilisi (for example, near mothers’ and children’s houses).
- Conducted awareness-raising campaigns, for example, at Public School No. 192 or at the Akhaltsikhe Adult Education Center.
- The yard of the 22nd secondary school in the city of Rustavi was cleaned and landscaped.
- They collected and recycled waste (plastic, waste paper, electronics) from other companies.
- They created objects from waste – Christmas trees, toys, decorations, bags.
All these products now decorate the offices of Irao. These items remind employees how important it is to reduce waste and protect the environment in general.
The winning team received a stay at the Tsinandali Hotel as a prize.
“For us, the leadership, the main prize will be to take a step forward, reconsider our behavior and take even more care of the earth,” Dekanosidze says.
He also says the competition will become traditional and even larger next year.
“What should people do to save the Earth? Let’s start changing our behaviour, become more environmentally friendly citizens, spend fewer resources, and move towards a circular economy. If we all don’t start acting together, no single tree planted will help.”
Insurance company Irao
The story was created within the project “Empowering People for Circular Solutions in Georgia”, implemented by CENN with the support of the USAID’s Economic Security Program.
