MA RC O M M S GUIDING OUR GREEN FUTURE Spearheaded by the FIDI 39 Club, FIDI has put together a focus group to define exactly what sustainability means for the moving business, release guidelines for Affiliates and help direct our actions on this important topic. FIDIs Marketing and Communications Manager Magali Horbert reports W MAGALI HORBERT, FIDI MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER ith the recent COP26 conference making headlines, environmental sustainability is on everyones mind. Everywhere, individuals, businesses and governments are rushing to find the best solutions (or at least trying to give the impression that they are). The world is on fire, and it is time for all industries to get to work and the international moving and global mobility sectors are no exception. In the face of the current global climate and sustainability crisis, becoming an environmentally sustainable mover is not just a question of doing the right thing. Faced with a bleak future if we (as individuals and companies) do not do anything, going green is increasingly a business imperative. Over the past couple of years, we have noticed that more and more of our Affiliates adhere to this moral imperative as their primary motivation for going green. This engagement is often actively championed by the younger generation; and within FIDI, the FIDI 39 Club has been the leading force behind our associations environmental activities. After many conversations with Affiliates on sustainability, we decided to organise an informal sustainability focus group, bringing together champions from within our FIDI community. The groups first task was to work out the basics: what does sustainability mean in the context of international moving, and what defines an environmentally sustainable mover? After a series of brainstorming sessions and workshops where we debated definitions and exchanged best practices and ideas, we decided to concentrate first on the environmental aspects of sustainability. We gathered the input and put together a report on what being an environmentally sustainable mover actually entails. These guidelines are meant to help you understand what defines a green mover; to identify where transformative change is coming and what you can do to respond to those changes. We believe that moving and relocation companies that act from a sense of responsibility and passion for a clean environment will reap the rewards in the very near future. In that sense, these guidelines are about more than helping you to go green. They are about helping you to future-proof your business and ensuring you can retain and attract clients. We have a huge opportunity to set a leading example on environmental best practice to suppliers, partners and clients around the world. So lets get to work together. l The full report will be published at the end of December on www.fidi.org/publications A BIG THANK YOU TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS GROUP: l L ydia Cabral, Trafimar (Mexico) l Katherin Crispoca, Intramar (Colombia) l Jessica Deutschmann, Gosselin, and FIDI 39 Club President (Germany) l Thomas Finlay, AMJ Campbell (Canada) l Dan Graebel, Graebel (USA) l Michael Hughes, Arpin International, and FIDI 39 Club Board member (USA) l Frances Kirton, Classic Moving and Storage (Singapore) l Ana Paula Lima, Netmove (Brazil) l Mikko Loikkanen, Niemi Services Ltd (Finland) l Aulina Mithal Sood, Star Worldwide, and FIDI Board member (India) 58 FF304 Dec_Jan 22 pp58 Marcomms.indd 58 Max Neumann, Streff (Luxembourg) Swap Rasam, Writers Relocation (UAE) Catherina Stier, Harsch International (Switzerland) Jos-Luis Tabuenca, SIT (Spain) Anthony Weil, Pickfords (UK) Magali Horbert, coordinator, FIDI Global Alliance (Belgium) l Sofie Defour, moderator and external expert (Belgium) l l l l l l l If you would like to know more about FIDIs sustainability actions and projects or want to be part of the sustainability focus group, please contact Magali Horbert at Magali.horbert@fidi.org WWW. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 07/12/2021 10:05