Nine of our good practices covered in the ‘Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices’ report!
Prepared by the Responsible Business Forum, the publication is the biggest review of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development initiatives in Poland. We are pleased to share the news that all good practices entered by our company have been included in the latest ‘Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices’ report.
For the nineteenth edition of the report, we entered four long-term activities and five carried out in 2020. Brief descriptions of all of them can be found below.
Long-term projects we have been running and developing for a number of years:
– Services Plus (Usługi na plus) - circular economy
– In-house magazine LinkUP
– Scholarship programme for the Janusz Korczak Foundation
– Integrated communication at Nowy Styl
Good practices initiated last year or before but not previously entered for the report:
– CO2 emissions reduction programme
– Packaging reduction project
– Responsible supply chain management
– Handbook of good practices in recruitment and selection
– Nowy Styl’s safe solutions
Services Plus (circular economy). Circular economy is a system where the volume of raw materials used and waste generated is reduced to the maximum. For a furniture manufacturer, this means using eco-friendly materials that cause no environmental impact when disposed of. Therefore, Nowy Styl makes wooden components from FSC®-certified boards, guaranteeing the raw material comes from responsible sources. To maximise product service life and facilitate reprocessing, the Xilium line has been developed, composed of chairs that are almost entirely recyclable. In addition, Nowy Styl can be contracted to not only supply products, but also provide additional services such as furniture maintenance, redistribution of unused components, repair of damaged parts, product repurposing and recycling of furniture unfit for further use.
In-house magazine LinkUP. A magazine made by employees for employees. It is published in four languages: Polish, English, German and French. This is possible because the magazine is edited by an international team whose members supply contents about the different countries and regions. LinkUP also publishes articles on issues that are common to the whole organisation. It is also a place for lighter topics, so employees can learn about the history and culture of their colleagues from different parts of the world. LinkUP helps workers broaden their horizons and feel the team spirit within the company.
The Janusz Korczak Foundation scholarship programme. The Foundation started 20 years ago by Adam and Jerzy Krzanowski, the founders of Nowy Styl, has been operating ever since. Its main objective is to support the development of gifted children and young people from Podkarpacie. The scholarship programme helps dozens of people every year.
Integrated communication at Nowy Styl. We have implemented a video conferencing system Avaya – a portal for setting up video meetings both within our company and for third-party business meetings. Any employee as well as anyone from outside our company with appropriate authorization can join a video conference, teleconference or an online presentation. Meetings can be joined from computers, mobile phones and landlines. Nowy Styl offices and showrooms have special video conferencing spaces that can be booked from business calendar level. As we were familiar with the tool and knew how to use its capabilities, switching to remote work during the pandemic was easier.
CO2 emissions reduction programme. We are constantly striving to minimize the negative impact of our business on the environment. CO2 Performance Ladder system is a tool we have implemented to help us reduce our carbon emissions. It helps us reduce CO2 emissions through the purchase of energy-efficient machinery and electric cars, and by cutting down business travel with a video conferencing system we have put in place. We have also optimised our production process and improved the energy efficiency of office heating. We have taken a number of initiatives to reduce emissions of harmful substances, also in logistics and transport, e.g. by optimally filling up the cargo space in our vehicles. The CO2 reduction programme assumes that by 2025 our company will emit 20% less carbon dioxide compared to the 2018 results. The indicator is linked to our annual sales.
Packaging reduction project. The purpose of the project is to reduce cardboard and plastics used for product packaging. This has been possible because we started using our own reusable, returnable packaging such as product covers made from fabric remnants, recycled blankets and wooden crates for transporting bulk components between factories.
Responsible supply chain management. To ensure all suppliers follow the same ethical principles, share similar values and care about the highest quality of their products and services, we developed a Purchasing Policy in 2020 and updated our Nowy Styl Supplier Code. In the document, we share our vision and goals in the field of sustainability policy and ethics.
Handbook of good practices in recruitment and selection. Nowy Styl takes a number of measures to ensure equal opportunities and prevent discrimination, and the handbook is one of them. It helps managers to evaluate all those taking part in a recruitment process with regard to the same, pre-defined competences. A standardized interview form has also been developed, with some items fixed and some questions specific to the job a candidate is applying for. The project was the subject of training for managers to help them expand their competences. They could also take part in a training to improve the skills described in the handbook. In addition, they were given a refresher training on personal data protection.
Nowy Styl’s safe solutions. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring appropriate working conditions is quite a challenge for those entrepreneurs who have decided to reopen their offices. Nowy Styl can be considered an expert in ensuring health and safety at work. To help other companies return to their offices, our consultants have come up with a report titled: Welcome Back... to the Office! It offers a set of tips and good practices focusing on six thematic areas: health and safety at work, new organisation of space, visual communication, work rules, activities to be taken by management and furnishings to support a safe working environment. They all make up what we call Workplace Safety Puzzles: some very specific actions and solutions to help people find their way around the new office reality.
The Janusz Korczak Foundation scholarship programme. The Foundation started 20 years ago by Adam and Jerzy Krzanowski, the founders of Nowy Styl, has been operating ever since. Its main objective is to support the development of gifted children and young people from Podkarpacie. The scholarship programme helps dozens of people every year.
Integrated communication at Nowy Styl. We have implemented a video conferencing system Avaya – a portal for setting up video meetings both within our company and for third-party business meetings. Any employee as well as anyone from outside our company with appropriate authorization can join a video conference, teleconference or an online presentation. Meetings can be joined from computers, mobile phones and landlines. Nowy Styl offices and showrooms have special video conferencing spaces that can be booked from business calendar level. As we were familiar with the tool and knew how to use its capabilities, switching to remote work during the pandemic was easier.
CO2 emissions reduction programme. We are constantly striving to minimize the negative impact of our business on the environment. CO2 Performance Ladder system is a tool we have implemented to help us reduce our carbon emissions. It helps us reduce CO2 emissions through the purchase of energy-efficient machinery and electric cars, and by cutting down business travel with a video conferencing system we have put in place. We have also optimised our production process and improved the energy efficiency of office heating. We have taken a number of initiatives to reduce emissions of harmful substances, also in logistics and transport, e.g. by optimally filling up the cargo space in our vehicles. The CO2 reduction programme assumes that by 2025 our company will emit 20% less carbon dioxide compared to the 2018 results. The indicator is linked to our annual sales.
Packaging reduction project. The purpose of the project is to reduce cardboard and plastics used for product packaging. This has been possible because we started using our own reusable, returnable packaging such as product covers made from fabric remnants, recycled blankets and wooden crates for transporting bulk components between factories.
Responsible supply chain management. To ensure all suppliers follow the same ethical principles, share similar values and care about the highest quality of their products and services, we developed a Purchasing Policy in 2020 and updated our Nowy Styl Supplier Code. In the document, we share our vision and goals in the field of sustainability policy and ethics.
Handbook of good practices in recruitment and selection. Nowy Styl takes a number of measures to ensure equal opportunities and prevent discrimination, and the handbook is one of them. It helps managers to evaluate all those taking part in a recruitment process with regard to the same, pre-defined competences. A standardized interview form has also been developed, with some items fixed and some questions specific to the job a candidate is applying for. The project was the subject of training for managers to help them expand their competences. They could also take part in a training to improve the skills described in the handbook. In addition, they were given a refresher training on personal data protection.
Nowy Styl’s safe solutions. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring appropriate working conditions is quite a challenge for those entrepreneurs who have decided to reopen their offices. Nowy Styl can be considered an expert in ensuring health and safety at work. To help other companies return to their offices, our consultants have come up with a report titled: Welcome Back... to the Office! It offers a set of tips and good practices focusing on six thematic areas: health and safety at work, new organisation of space, visual communication, work rules, activities to be taken by management and furnishings to support a safe working environment. They all make up what we call Workplace Safety Puzzles: some very specific actions and solutions to help people find their way around the new office reality.