Even those living on the most distant corners of our world, where the magical realm of Christmas remains sparkly under the leadership of Santa Klaus, have something very clear in their minds: the need to keep adapting and deploying new ways of living to maintain sustainable progress.
Santa has shown, yet again, his commitment to sustainable progress by adopting several practices to enhance the sustainability of its operations in 2020. The strategy, co-created with all the Magical Creatures that work with him, aims to ensure every kid in the world can experience the joy of Christmas without harming the natural magic of our world.
After last year's festivities, Santa's team got together to assess what had gone well, which practices should become standard in their work and which ones needed to be revised. They also started adopting the Sustainable Development Goals to define the strategies for 2021 and ensure compliance with standard practices and within the goals to reach the 2030 Agenda.
The measures adopted within Santa’s facilities had increased the overall performance of all operational processes and drastically reduced its environmental impact. Inspired by the renewed shared purpose, the team of Magical Creatures was motivated to share and create even more sustainable projects.
The “Magical Center for Toys”, created by the elves to refurbish used toys, worked at its total capacity throughout the year, transforming old toys into new ones and positively contributing to the circular economy. The facility became a reference not only for the outcome of its work but also for the practices in place to run its operations, such as the reuse of water, panel solars, and minimizing generation of waste – the same ones adopted all over Santa’s facilities. It also scaled its services and reached the world through social media and online workshops and classes to spur creative skills and form “magicians” in the art of recycling and reusing toys.
Inspired by the idea of sharing knowledge, the magical created a committee to support the development of Santas’ suppliers to adapt their business to the new economy, ensuring the design of more sustainable practices. All the suppliers interested went through a six-month program to learn how to adjust their business and implement new processes. After that, two elves were assigned to individually assess each business and support in the final adjustments. Afterward, an evaluation was conducted to ensure they met all the criteria from the new procurement code and were able to join a network of businesses to support local purchases and develop partnerships.
Along with the changes implemented over the year, Santa has decided to use his global reach to raise awareness about the world's challenges. He had a specialized team prepare a campaign entitled "Make the Smile Last" to remind the kids and their families that Christmas is a time to celebrate the beauty of life. To keep celebrating Christmas, we need to reinforce our collective commitment to preserve and celebrate life on Earth - and we can only do that by ensuring we take care of our world and the beings that live on it. Santa’s campaign highlights the importance of taking care of our Planet to ensure every kid can grow up, keep smiling and experiencing joy.
We learned over the last two years that we are capable of change. We have the skills and capabilities to solve challenges. We already have all the solutions, but we need to put them into practice. This short story is a reminder of what humanity can accomplish – and that the magic of Christmas can inspire us all to do and be better throughout the whole year.
What about you? Have you been more sustainable over this Christmas season? What have you done differently from last Christmas?
We, the team of the Center of Responsible Business and Leadership, wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas!
Have a great and impactful…Christmas.
Natália Cantarino
Researcher
Center for Responsible Busienss & Leadership
This Newsletter covers SDG 12 and 13.
This article refers to edition #119 of the "Have a Great and Impactful Week" Newsletter.
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