Consumers want companies committed to the environment

Sustainability is no longer an option.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
24 June 2022 Friday 15:33
8 Reads
Consumers want companies committed to the environment

Sustainability is no longer an option. By 2030, the impacts of climate change will be irreversible. The urgent solution is, among other things, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Among all: companies, people and institutions. Because the commitment to the planet requires the effort of all possible agents.

For this reason, the sustainability strategy is gaining more and more strength in companies, which are increasingly aware of the environment in which they operate and also that their customers demand solutions in this regard: more sustainable actions that respect the world in which that we live.

It is no longer just what counts, but also how things are done and under what conditions the people involved work. Because sustainability is not just taking care of the environment. Therefore, responsible consumption is guided by social and environmental criteria, asking how what we are going to consume has been produced, its implications and its impacts.

A trend that, over the years, is gaining strength in Spain. Today, more and more Spaniards are already making consumption decisions for ethical or environmental reasons. And companies like Cofidis know it.

As part of its commitment to sustainability, the financial entity specialized in granting consumer loans and financing projects has launched different initiatives. For example, have you ever wondered how much you cost the planet? To answer this question, Cofidis has developed a calculator that measures our carbon footprint.

Through a test, you will have to answer questions such as the habitable surface of your home or the number of people you live with, how long it takes you to take a shower, what type of waste do you recycle, if you consume electricity from renewable sources, what type of lighting you have installed or the fuel you use for heating.

Beyond physical housing, other issues also come into play, such as the money you spend annually on online purchases, the type of diet you practice or the frequency with which you consume eggs, fish or legumes; what private or public transport you use on a daily basis or the number of days you stayed in a hotel, apartment, house or campsite during your last year's vacation.

Once all the questions have been answered, the calculator returns a total CO₂ consumption result, which is then divided into Home, Diet, Mobility and Holidays. Because, when it comes to contaminating, everything counts.

This footprint also translates into the phase of the path towards a more sustainable life in which you find yourself: (from less to more) Are you green, in favor of recycling, are you sustainable or a Pachamama?

In addition to helping consumers to know their carbon footprint, Cofidis also wants to contribute to caring for the planet with many other initiatives and for this reason, it has launched the Breathe Life project, whereby for each loan it grants to consumers it plants a tree in the Cofidis forest, thus helping to curb the planet's CO₂ footprint: 1 loan = 1 tree. By the end of 2022, the company plans to plant 100,000 trees, reforest 33.3 hectares and capture 4,000 tons of CO₂. All this on the island of Madagascar. Although in the last quarter of 2022 there will also be a massive planting of trees in Maçanet de la Selva, Girona.

Breathe Life and the carbon footprint calculator are part of

For this reason, in recent years, Cofidis has also carried out different actions to make the development of its activity more sustainable every day. For example, between 2020 and 2021, it managed to reduce its carbon footprint by 45% thanks to initiatives such as the digital signature of 90% of financing contracts, the reduction of the use of paper by 54% and the emissions derived from the change to green energy by 77% or the 45 tons of recycled waste in recent years.