Argenta asks suppliers to play their part for the planet by signing up to its Sustainability Charter
Argenta’s mission is to work closely with families and individuals to ensure their financial health, by providing simple, honest, and detailed support. “We want to be the first bank insurance company for families and individuals that values sustainable, no-frills financial advice,” explains Bart Leeman, Secretary-General. Argenta also believes firmly in sustainability – which is why they have installed AQUALEX drinking water coolers in their main office.
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“We want to be responsible about how we provide for our clients and employees – in every aspect”, explains Leeman. That also means sharing responsibility for our planet. “For us, responsibility means a mindful attitude to people, planet, and our society. Our approach yields more stable, better results, happy employees and healthy growth. So it’s no wonder we build sustainability into everything we do”.
Suppliers’ Sustainability Charter
Argenta has produced a document laying out in detail the four pillars of the corporate sustainability policy: “First of all, we want to be there for our employees and our clients. We want to look after them – after all, they're our best ambassadors. Secondly, we are building a strong, sustainable portfolio of straightforward, transparent products. Our third pillar is the fact that we aim to have a positive impact on our society. We put each euro to work ethically and deliberately. Finally, we believe that bankers do not need to cost the earth, and that’s why we strive to keep our ecological footprint small. These same pillars are set out in our Suppliers’ Sustainability Charter, in which we ask our partners to commit to the Principles of the UN Global Compact. All our strategic suppliers have now signed up to this Sustainability Charter.”
One of those suppliers is AQUALEX. Bart Leeman reports: “We made a deliberate choice to transition away from providing drinking water in glass and plastic bottles, as a step towards reducing the mountains of waste. Instead, we have installed drinking water coolers. Tap water is always available. The AQUALEX system filters and cools it, so that the water is always fresh and delicious. In fact, this decision is not only a part of our sustainability strategy: it is also a part of our care for the health and wellbeing of our staff. We give every member of our team an Argenta reusable drinking bottle. This encourages them to drink plenty of water, which is a healthy habit that helps improve concentration and performance on the work floor.”
Bart Leeman lists a number of reasons for selecting AQUALEX to provide the water coolers. “Firstly, the quality of the company’s products and services; then price was also a factor, of course. However, what finally decided us was the fact that AQUALEX, like us, considers sustainability a core value for corporate management. Indeed, it’s the company’s raison d’être: they want to make drinking tap water a normal part of life, and thus contribute to reducing energy use and carbon emissions.”
Carbon neutrality is another goal shared by Argenta. “We’ve put a lot of work into this already, when we were renovating our headquarters, which we moved into in 2021. We made a deliberate decision not to relocate to a new site, but instead to fully renovate our existing building. When planning the renovations, we designed energy-efficient solutions, and we also worked with a supplier who could offer a strong range of sustainable products for the interior. In addition, our location is easy to reach by train, tram or bus and there are a number of Velo bike sharing stations in the area. Around half of our staff travel in by bike or public transport.”
