Next October 24 is the International Day Against Climate Change. Therefore, in this International Year of Cooperatives, from Suara we highlight how from cooperativism we promote a more sustainable world.
Climate change is advancing unabated. The last decade has been the warmest since records began. In 2024, according to Greenpeace, the global temperature increased by 1.4ºC since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 19th century (1,850 - 1,900). Regarding the rise in sea level, an annual average of 4.5 mm has grown between 2013 and 2021, more than double what was recorded between 1993 and 2002. In 2024 alone, the increase was 5.9 mm.
The climate emergency is a reality that we cannot turn our backs on. For this reason, from the cooperative sector we place the life of both people and the planet at the center of our action, and we are committed to sustainable activity with the environment. To raise awareness among the population of respect, the UN has declared October 26 as the International Day Against Climate Change.
In this International Year of Cooperatives, declared by UNESCO to highlight how we contribute to creating a better world, from Suara we want to dedicate the month of October to raising awareness of how the cooperative movement is environmentally responsible, an intrinsic value in our action.
Suara Cooperativa Measures
At Suara Cooperativa we have the challenge of promoting an activity that is friendly to the environment and, therefore, we focus our efforts on reducing our impact. For this reason, we have a “paperless” policy, which has led us to reduce paper consumption, which has gone from 293,000 units in 2024 to 303,100 units in 2023, an agreement that is included in our sustainability report. In addition, this year electricity consumption has also been reduced from 2,587,694kW in 2023 to 2,052,216kW in 2024.
Regarding the kilometers traveled, they have been exactly the same in 2023 and 2024: 593,313. To reverse this trend, we have reached an agreement with Som Mobilitat and this year we have introduced two electric vehicles into our fleet.
We are also committed to adapting our buildings to be more sustainable. An example of this is the Terres de l’Ebre Reception Center, where 34 photovoltaic plants were installed in 2023, thanks to funding from the Next Generation Fund of the European Union (EU).
We have also begun to implement the circular economy in our services, which consists of reusing materials to give them another use and extend their useful life. To detect the experiences that already exist at Suara Cooperativa, from the Social Digital Lab, our social innovation laboratory, a total of 50 service directors were interviewed to learn about the experiences in each of them in this regard. Within this framework, it was detected that nursery schools were an example to follow in the implementation of the circular economy.
With this information, we have created the report on Good Practices in the circular economy, which can serve as an example for other services in the cooperative and outside it to mirror experiences that are already working.
And you, what are you waiting for to commit to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly activity?
