BNP Paribas Spain is launching, during 2009, several combined economical and ecological initiatives, with a project called eco². On June 5th, World Environment Day, employees participated in the project by posting best practices and suggestions to reduce consumption in the workplace. Head of General Services in Spain, Federico Arias tells us about the project and how it affects the everyday lives of the employees.

“What we have done is look for initiatives that not only have a positive impact on the environment, but also improve staff life. This way, they have a great acceptance among employees and they really want to implement them. For example, reducing business travel helps to maintain better health by reducing effort and stress and helps also to sustain familiar rhythm.”

Employee propositions ranged from reducing the time the building lights are switched on by a half hour and installing energy-saving light bulbs, to avoiding one of the most common bad habits of leaving a phone charger plugged into the wall when not in use.

“Through simple electronic leaflets published in our intranet, employees are informed of the specific actions implemented and they can get simple suggestions of how they can personally contribute to each initiative. We are convinced the small contribution of each employee really makes the difference. So, we have subtitled the project: ‘Cada detalle cuenta. Tú cuentas’ ‘Each detail counts, you count!’ And it is working!”