“We are constantly targeting investments in new technologies”

Green PC Ambalaje has organically developed throughout the year 2021. Its total turnover increased by almost 40 percent and employee number rose to more than double as per end of year 2020.

“Top priorities for 2022 would imply strong consolidation of current business areas, finishing and operating planned investments, optimizing costs in times of uncertainty, developing new projects regarding the importance of separate collection and most important keeping up the ascending trend of turnover increase at least at the same pace of 2021,” Cristian Lazar, Chief Executive Officer at Green PC Ambalaje told The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“We are constantly targeting investments in new technologies that will help us make a differnce in our waste management industry, and on a personal note we see advancement in blockchain technology a useful feature for business, and also mobility innovations and industry technological development as in AI technology and robotics.”

How would you describe the evolution of your company in 2021?

“In our mission to shape a sustainable future, in a constantly moving business ecosystem and all more demanding, we rely on know-how and professional excellence, applying the principles with conviction and seriousness which underpins the circular economy model.

The company has constantly and organically developed throughout the year 2021 and kept the ascending trend up to the end of the year with most likely keeping in throughout 2022 also. The total turnover increased by almost 40% and employee number rose to more than double as per end of year 2020.”

What were your company’s business achievements in 2021?

“Our biggest achievement in 2021 would be the expansion of our business, approaching new market opportunities and adopting a bold strategy to grow our market share. We managed to extend our area of services, developing new business lines both for existing and new customers. In terms of investments our company secured a 20 million RON investment      funding for further technological upgrade and work capital. Also, the company developed a stronger foundation and a top level management team.”

What challenges have you faced as a leader during 2021?

“Taking in consideration our business growth, challenges were even more daunting that previous years. In our industry the lack of workforce affects all the players. Having to overcome this problem implied creative resource management, investments, automatization and last but not least import of foreign workforce.  

Another top challenge we faced was keeping control of profitability alongside a fast paced rise of operational costs that include fuels, workforce, utilities and so on. The challenge itself was finding solutions to absorb this rising costs. 

Other important challenges would be the decrease in transportation availability and lack of dedicated government funding.

In the curent economic context we look to consolidate our business model, creating a sinergy inside the organization. We are focusing on our future growth strategy, refine our processes and procedures, and invest in added-value fields which can support our growth.”

What priorities and business strategy focus do you have in 2022?

“The waste and recycling industry has been forced to adapt to constant change within the last 2 years due to COVID-19 pandemics.

Looking at potential opportunities for 2022, rising societal concerns about sustainable development, environmental protection and climate change increasingly reinforce recycling’s critical role in conserving natural resources, reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, and preserving low-cost raw material inputs for our manufacturing industries.

For Green PC Ambalaje Top priorities for 2022 would imply strong consolidation of current business areas, finishing and operating planned investments, optimizing costs in times of uncertainty, developing new projects regarding the importance of separate collection and most important keeping up the ascending trend of turnover increase at least at the same pace of 2021.”

What initiatives & projects did the company  run in 2021 in CSR and social projects? Name and describe the most outstanding.

“Thecompanyhas been and it is actively involved in CSR and social projects and year 2021 was no exception. Either with clients or with suppliers our company is proudly supporting numerous nationwide projects with direct impact in social awareness, education and the importance of separate collection with proper collection infrastructure. For 2021 we could mention the following main projects:

• “Plata cu PET” – a social project in collaboration with one of our partners in which a person can exchange an empty PET bottle for fresh fruit or vegetable. The project ran across country in different cities and amassed great succes.
• “Azi pentru maine” – an educational project in which our company provided the required knowledge and infrastructure  for separating and collecting recyclable waste in selected schools in different areas of the country
• “Sanctuarul de ursi” –  a social project where we provided containers for feeding bears from Brasov bear sanctuary with leftover vegetables and fruits from our partner’s stores.

Education plays a vital role in supporting sustainability, especially for children who are more aware of the changes happening now, affecting their future and development patterns. Education for sustainable development should promote the development of the knowledge, skills, understanding, values and actions required to create a sustainable world, which ensures environmental protection and conservation, promotes social equity and encourages economic sustainability.

Within our company the well-being of local communities is a priority for us. Therefore, we seek to get involved in projects that have a positive impact on them, whether we are talking about raising awareness of the global context, or by improving infrastructure.”

What sustainability and green-driven initiatives & projects did the company run in 2021? Name and describe the most outstanding.

“We continuously work on improving our operations in a sustainable way thus having clear goals for both ourselves and our partners in working for a greener future.

We have a large diversity of ongoing projects within our group of companies, at different levels of planning and implementation.

We have investment projects in our production sites which implies the purchase of tehnological equipments for sorting and recycling, upgrade existing equipments and machines. On long term we want to improve our fleet management and car park by making the transition to electric vehicles instead of fossil fuels, and thus reduce carbon footprint and become a more „greener” company. As we speak, we are taking delivery of the first batch of full electric small trucks for waste collection. Moreover, we want to transform waste to energy, developing and operating a waste to energy stream with our partners from bio waste.”

Which were the major directions in your company in 2021 where digital & tech made major difference? Name shortly the projects and the tech / digital- innovation or application.

“We consider technological innovations as means to a more simplified workflow and that often translates into lower operating cost and more accurate data. For 2021 our company implemented new technologies, both software and hardware:

• New tailor made ERP software – for complex workflows which fits our current and medium/long term needs
• New state of the art optical equipments for sorting – new tech for automated sorting that greatly improves our plant yield and at the same we reduced labor cost and related risks
• Redesigned customer support – improved feedback and customer service across all of our services
• Redesigned logistic software – a more precise tracking and managing fleet movement and schedule thus optimizing equipment usage and quality of services.”

We are constantly targeting investments in new technologies that will help us make a differnce in our waste management industry, and on a personal note we see advancement in blockchain technology a useful feature for business, and also mobility innovations and industry technological development as in AI technology and robotics.”

2021 IN 3 KEY WORDS

“Strategy, Growth, Performance”

2022 IN 3 KEY WORDS OR MORE

“Predictability, Improvement, Opportunities, Challenges”