Johannesburg, 02 Dec 2014
Bytes Document Solutions (BDS), the largest Xerox distributor in the world, and a division of Bytes Technology Group, has awarded its third Xerox Global Services (XGS) Environmental Award to the Xerox Global Site (XGS) at Standard Bank, in the Johannesburg CBD.
This innovative competition was initiated by the BDS Green Team in 2011, and has been a cornerstone of its sustainability drive to identify best practices, such as waste reduction and responsible paper use. The winning site was chosen for its neatness, environmental awareness, recycling, safety and commitment to sustainability. The XGS site team at the Standard Bank site best fulfilled all these requirements.
As part of a broader 'Go Green' awareness campaign, the competition involves the majority of XGS print rooms in Johannesburg and Pretoria, and is the brainchild of Eddy Gordon, manager for Digital Solutions and MEA Training at BDS.
The ceremony to honour the award recipients took place on 21 November 2014 at the Standard Bank site in downtown Johannesburg. On hand to congratulate the award-winning Standard Bank XGS team on their achievement were Koos Ligtenberg, Strategic Planning Executive of BDS, and Altron representatives Jannette Horn and Dr Pieter van der Walt. Ligtenberg handed over the floating trophy and prize to Mukesh Singh, team leader within the Standard Bank Xerox Digital Printing Services division. In accepting the award, Singh praised his team for their collective effort throughout the year.
He emphasised the hard work and commitment from his fellow team members in ensuring the site surpassed the standards set by BDS.
Some of the specific achievements/savings include:
* 415 trees saved
* 646 kilolitres of water saved
* 93 cubic metres of landfill saved
* 99 999KW of energy saved
* 664kg of pollutants kept out of the atmosphere
"We, as a company, are sustainable to ensure that the future generations are able to enjoy what we have today. The ecosystem is deteriorating and the climate is changing - it is thus our duty to protect the environment and scarce resources. By implementing processes that will create awareness and responsibility, all of us can understand how important the time is now for us to protect the existing resources for future generations," says Singh.
According to Dr van der Walt, Altron Group Manager: Information Integration, the BDS awards initiative is part and parcel of the Altron Group's sustainability policy, whereby protecting the environment is not only about ensuring the next generation has the same natural resources at their disposal as ours, but ultimately, is an effective business strategy to reduce a company's carbon footprint.
"Altron wholly endorses BDS's efforts to identify, incentivise and reward operational measures that ensure sustainability within its customers' print sites. Mukesh Singh and his team have demonstrated significant accomplishment in this area of best business practice, including cost-savings," says Dr van der Walt.
In recognising the winning team's efforts, Ligtenberg emphasised the importance of sustainability within the BDS business and noted that some of the criteria assessors were looking for included: site cleanliness, recycling, site safety measures and waste prevention management. Standard Bank's XGS site team best fulfilled all these requirements, winning a unique floating trophy as well as a gift voucher for the team and a certificate of accomplishment.
"The Go Green drive is a fun and engaging way to make both the BDS employees and the company's clients more aware of how to run an environmentally-friendly business and to reduce the impact on our world by containing our carbon footprints," concludes Gordon.
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