While most people are still trying to fill out their bingo cards with the most popular sayings and phrases on the subject of “weather in April” in this second quarter, we have already started to think about the climate. Even if prominent opinion leaders such as Jan Fleischauer compare snow in April with the rising heat records, thus demonstrating his ignorance of weather and climate, we at virtual7 have long since recognized that each and every one of us is jointly responsible for a healthy and liveable future.
There is no point in denying it; our actions influence pretty much everything that can go in the right or wrong direction on this planet. So how about we take a path together that leads to greater sustainability?
Healthy growth
In the second quarter of 2024, we are focusing on “Inspire Growth” and celebrating this value again with a nice give-away in the form of a seed bomb or a flower ball. Because growth – whether of a plant, personal or economic nature – is a good thing.
Hmm. Stop. Is it a good thing? No? Why can’t you just answer such questions with a blanket “yes” or “no”? Does it always have to be so complicated and multi-layered, ambivalent and tricky? Um, no.
Because of course we at virtual7 use the value “Inspire Growth” to mean personal growth when it comes to achieving the goals we have set ourselves. We are not talking about the uncontrolled growth of a company without regard for employees, stakeholders or the environment. We know that growth must remain healthy and that we can only achieve our corporate goals if every employee is passionate and committed, with heart and brain. That’s why we always try to encourage each other to work on ourselves in order to improve in many ways. As you know, the big picture is made up of many small parts.
The right way
The company has now grown to over 160 employees and it is very important to us that every one of them is happy here. The growth of virtual7 as an employer is ultimately designed to meet the demanding requirements of the digitalization of Germany’s public sector. There is still so much to do and so many projects are needed to reach our goal. And that is precisely why we need a large and strong team that works hand in hand with common sense and commitment to take the “right” paths.
In job interviews with us, more and more employees mention sustainability and the post-growth economy as a central component when it comes to who they would like to work for and, above all, for whom.
Corporate Social Responsibility
For many members of Generation Y, a company’s social commitment is a decisive factor when choosing a job. This is shown by a study by MSLGroup: 82% of the German millennials surveyed want companies to be socially committed. Another study on job satisfaction in Germany even found that 86% of participants stated that they would prefer companies with a social commitment as an employer. In view of the widespread shortage of skilled workers, this social commitment is therefore much more than just a means for companies to cultivate their image – it is rather a necessity in order to attract qualified workers (cf. https://particulate.de/blog/csr/csr-was-bringt-das-eigentlich/).
From a company’s point of view, it therefore makes perfect sense to address the issue of sustainability. Nowadays it is called Corporate Social Responsibility and basically means “the social responsibility of companies in terms of sustainable business” (CSR in Germany). But what does this mean in concrete terms for the many different requirements of companies? If you are not active in the merchandise industry and do not manufacture clothing or other material goods, you logically do not have to pay attention to natural resources, the climate or the supply chain. Or do you? Yes and no.
De-Growth
There are also plenty of starting points for a service company in the IT sector to implement corporate social responsibility measures. From car sharing, bike leasing and a “green” web host to an eco-electricity provider, home office offers, sustainable business accounts with a bank and regional suppliers, there are numerous ways to take the right path.
In fact, we have already implemented a few of these suggestions and we also started donating old equipment and decommissioned IT hardware some time ago. But when it comes to CSR and de-growth, the rule of thumb is that you can always do more – the ideas are manifold and a company can also ultimately live up to its social responsibility with monetary donations by financially supporting local sports clubs or schools, kindergartens or green spaces.
Taking responsibility
The motivation to set out on the right path and to follow it consistently should be seen as an end in itself. A responsibility is accepted and acted upon without aiming for anything in return – because a green fraudulent label is quickly noticed if business practices and corporate strategies do not correspond to what is written on the packaging, this can permanently shake the trust of employees and applicants.
Success through sustainability
Conversely, companies can also have themselves certified and thus showcase and prove their CSR-relevant measures. Certificates and seals are awarded to companies that voluntarily comply with specific, binding standards relating to measures and quality features in areas such as management, product design and representation of interests. These awards highlight a company’s voluntary commitment and can help to improve its reputation both internally and externally. At the same time, the underlying standards enable better measurement of corporate processes, which allows management to control and optimize their activities more effectively. Furthermore, these standards help to make the complexity of value chains in globalized markets more transparent and thus more responsible. (Cf. CSR in Germany)
A company that is certified with various ISO standards relating to environmental and quality management (14001, 9001) can certainly peddle this and score points with potential applicants. In addition, a company should also work on a sustainability strategy in order to do justice to the sustainable development of the company in terms of ecological, social and economic aspects. After all, this is the only way forward if we want our grandchildren to tell us about the crazy weather in April and not about everyday climate catastrophes.
Let’s get started – Inspire (De-)Growth!
