Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for the economy. According to a survey of companies in Germany conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, 84 percent of those responsible consider this topic to be important. If we take a look at the implementation, about half already state that sustainability is “fully” or “predominantly” anchored in the organization. Our ALVARA Group has reflected on where it stands today – and where it still intends to go.
Social sustainability
For a long time, sustainability was only associated with environmental and climate protection. However, if companies really want to act sustainably, they should not only be aware of the consequences of their decisions on the environment. They must also consider society and, above all, their employees. At ALVARA, social sustainability has always played a significant part. One thing is clear: without satisfied colleagues, a well-run business is inconceivable.
Our main goal is to achieve the perfect balance between family and career. This is why, we do everything we can to ensure that our employees see us as a family-friendly company. The focus is on fulfilling individual needs. Flexitime and part-time models of various kinds, as well as the option of mobile working, give our valued employees more flexibility in their everyday lives and ensure the desired work-life balance – which in turn saves on commuting and the associated CO2 emissions. We also do good as a team: We forgo gifts and instead make donations to charitable organizations together.
Ecological sustainability
We also create opportunities for our employees to travel sustainably for necessary journeys such as commuting to work and business appointments – which already has an ecological focus. We have recently made the newly introduced Deutschlandticket available to our employees to use local buses and trains. When it comes to travel, we follow a clear path: Instead of an entire fleet of vehicles, we have a company vehicle and rely on trains as our preferred way of traveling.
For many, the use of renewable energies is at the top of the to-do list for environmental sustainability – for us, too. With modern data centers that meet the highest standards – not only in terms of security – but also with regard to energy efficiency, we are improving our climate footprint. In addition, we use renewable energy sources for data center infrastructure operations.
We live the paperless office! All our business processes are digital – from acquisition over helpdesk, to reporting, and transactions. In addition to eliminating the need for paper and thus protecting the environment, this also has other advantages. In the end, we work more efficiently – independent of location and quickly.
And paperless working is also becoming increasingly important among our customers. For example, more and more retailers are aiming to digitize processes and introduce a paperless back office. In this context, digital collaboration with the cash in transit companies (CIT) is essential, including digitally generated receipts and vouchers. Read here how our Pecunia solution and the ICC Connector pave the way for this. But also at the POS there are possibilities to protect the environment.
Economic sustainability
Our company was created out of a clear motivation: to support retailers, financial institutions and value service providers in their digitization efforts through innovative ideas and efficient software solutions. A positive side effect is that paper is disappearing more and more from our customers’ everyday work. Thus, our business model in itself aims at a sustainable way of working for the various cash players.
Quality management is also essential for us: “Made in Europe” development to the highest standards is an absolute must. This allows effective controls and efficient coordination processes to be carried out today and tomorrow with consistent quality.
Conclusion
At ALVARA, we are already thinking sustainably on many levels. Of course, the topic of sustainability is far from being “fully and completely” fulfilled. Because ecological, economic and social responsibilities will continue to develop. Therefore, companies should also constantly reflect and review their actions. This approach will continue to be increasingly important for us in the future.
Have you been considering how you can contribute to environmental protection? Digital processes that dispense with paper can be a first step. Let’s talk about it!
