Onet and the National Institute for the Circular Economy: a lasting commitment!
In 2018, Onet strengthened its commitment to responsible development by joining the National Institute for the Circular Economy, an organization whose mission is to promote the circular economy in France and Europe.
At the end of 2020, we renewed our partnership. Here is a summary of the actions carried out thanks to our partnership.
- Sunday 07 March 2021
The role of the National Institute for the Circular Economy
Founded in 2013, the National Institute for the Circular Economy‘s mission is to promote the circular economy and accelerate its development through a collaborative dynamic. It is composed of more than 200 members, public and private organizations: companies, federations, local authorities, institutions, associations, NGOs and universities.
In concrete terms, the Institute sets up working groups and carries out studies to centralize information and then share best practices and support territories and organizations in their implementation.
It also contributes to the integration of the circular economy in the legislative field through active participation in the drafting of laws.
As a reminder, the circular economy
refers to an economic model whose objective is to produce goods and services in a sustainable way, limiting the consumption and waste of resources as well as the production of waste. Its objective is to combine economic growth with the preservation of natural resources through the creation of innovative products, services, business models and public policies.
Why this partnership?
In 2018, we joined the National Institute for the Circular Economy. The agreement is fully in line with our CSR commitment: it allows us to deepen our thinking in terms of the circular economy and contribute to its promotion. Indeed, through this partnership we benefit from a regulatory and technical watch, we identify the potential impacts and opportunities of our activity and we also participate in working groups led by the Institute.
With this partnership, our mission is to make a real difference in terms of environmental impact and to innovate for the emergence of new business models that can be adapted for all players in the services sector.
In addition to signing this agreement, the Onet Group is strongly committed to responsible development. Since 2002, the Group has implemented the “The future begins today” approach, which cuts across all its businesses, to meet environmental, economic, social and societal challenges. In this way, we are working to contribute to the sustainable development objectives set by the United Nations.
Waste management, reduction of energy consumption, and employee training are all areas in which the company is working to ensure our future.
The Institute, convinced of our commitment
The National Institute for the Circular Economy is very pleased with the partnership with Onet. Valuable ideas and skills are brought in to advance circular economy dynamics in organizations, both public and private, throughout the territory. And beyond that, the feedback from the transformation of processes at Onet, by promoting the reuse of bottles, is the perfect illustration of the positive impact that the circular economy can bring to a company as well as to its customers, especially in times of crisis.
Actions taken: the results
Biogistic, a good example of a circular economy solution
Since joining the Institute, several notable actions have been carried out. The information on the regulatory evolutions brought by the Institute helps us to manage our priorities on the subjects.
The plastics law was anticipated for large-scale implementation with solutions proposed for our employees. The Biogistic responsible cleaning solution has enabled us to reduce our plastic waste by 30%, i.e. more than 2 million bottles that will not be sent to landfill over the next 5 years.
This global cleaning solution, which combines the use of eco-labelled and biotechnology-based products with integrated logistics from ordering to on-site use of the products, is a concrete example of our circular economy approach. The Institute allows us to promote our solution and to contribute to the dissemination of solutions from innovative companies.
Stop single-use plastic waste
Concrete actions have also been implemented within Onet to raise employee awareness, to promote the use of reusable cups and tumblers, the replacement of plastic bottles with water jugs, the use of wooden stirring sticks or other compostable materials, and the provision of biodegradable meal trays. The aim is to ensure that everything is designed to move towards zero waste.
We have a decoding by the Institute on one of our subjects of interest, that allows us to better identify the urgency and to apply the solution internally accordingly. We are thus ahead of the game and ready to initiate new projects, well ahead of certain regulations.
Between ideas and agile work with the Institute
Circular economy topics are now numerous at Onet. In 2020, we deployed a Group-wide solution to give a second life to our IT equipment, resulting in over 5 tons of equipment collected.
2021 will be a pivotal year for the Onet Group in terms of energy transition, with the launch of pilot phases with our agencies for the integration of cleaner vehicles in our fleet of 4,000 vehicles. Another example to highlight, a consequence of this partnership and Onet’s unwavering commitment to its CSR approach: because of her investment, Muriel Duguay, our CSR manager, has also been a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors since September 2020.
It can thus share our best practices and discuss our vision of the circular economy with major local and national players.