Sustainability

We make choices every day – what to eat, what to consume and how we do it – all these choices impact the environment.

We are all individually able to make a difference and change always starts with us. That is why at Silvex we are taking action to contribute towards the urgent need to change for a more sustainable future.

By promoting Circular Economy

• We recycle our waste and re-incorporate it in new products, using 40% less virgin raw material.

By developing alternative products to fossil plastic

• We promote circular economy by creating products with a high percentage of recycled raw materials up to 100%.
• We use inert materials in packaging, therefore decreasing the use of petroleum-based materials in 60%.
• We create up to 100% plant-based material solutions.
• We manufacture biodegradable and compostable plastics.

By reducing our carbon footprint

• We have installed a solar system for self-consumption (more than 3.556 photovoltaic panels) which allows us to produce about 18% of our power consumption.
• We have changed our lighting to LED lamps, thus reducing energy consumption in 41%.
• We are converting our fleet in a hybrid vehicle or 100% electric vehicle fleet (20% of our fleet is currently formed by hybrid or electric vehicles).
• 100% of our used energy is renewable

By decreasing and composting waste

• We compost. Organic waste from our cafeteria (more than 290 daily meals) is transformed into organic compost that we further use in our plant gardens. Silvex employees contribute to this project by placing their household organic waste in the composting park.
• We estimate that we can be decreasing the waste collected by the municipality in 3 tonnes, therefore saving fuel used in waste collection and in the waste treatment process.

By working for an environmentally sustainable chain

• We prefer those suppliers who comply with all legal environmental standards, regulations and licences, in order to decrease the environmental impact and improve the social conditions of our chain of value, while promoting its development.
• The paper we buy (packages and boxes) is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), being manufactured from raw materials originated from forests run in a responsible way from the economic, social and environmental standpoint.
• The printing ink of our bags are mostly water-based in order to decrease the emission of volatile organic substances. For biodegradable plastics we use proper biological inks.

By valuing our people

• Our employees and their contributions are equally important to us. We are long-time committed to equality in job opportunities and we believe in a fair market, available to all – 7,2% of our employees are physical or mental disabled.
• We ensure all basic health and safety measures, we focus on labour risk prevention and we encourage our employees to provide for their safety and their co-workers safety, by adopting more conscious behaviours.
• We focus on ongoing training. Our employees are always encouraged to upgrade their knowledge and consolidate their skills.

By supporting the community

• We are drawn to supporting several entities from Benavente, like sports groups, schools and institutions. Centro de Reabilitação Infantil de Benavente (CRIB) stands out given that three of our employees are members of this institution.
• We cooperate with a few universities and our doors are open for schools.