In this episode we discover a corporate sustainability project based on the use of containers designed by the start-up Aroundrs in the Rosetti Marino company canteen: an innovative solution to eliminate single-use plastic packaging for people who take their meal away. Thanks to a digital system that manages the life cycle of the reusable containers, waste can be reduced and the lunch break made more sustainable.
Rossella Meniccocci: Hi Laura!
Laura Pierantoni: Hi Rossella! Oh, I know this one well, it’s the star of our project.
Rossella Meniccocci: Yes, well, today I took advantage of the nice weather and got a take-away lunch so I could eat outside. It’s great to see how this detail has revolutionised our lunch break and the way we have our take-away lunch, making it more sustainable too.
Laura Pierantoni: That’s true, but did you expect this project to have such a significant impact?
Rossella Meniccocci: No, not at first, because it was a completely new project that had to be set up from scratch, but in fact the collaboration between our two companies, which has lasted 25 years, managed to create synergy, also bringing on board this new start-up, Aroundrs.
There’s also Rosetti Marino’s pride in being the first company in Emilia-Romagna to use this service. Listen, would you like to talk a bit about the results we’ve achieved with this project?
Laura Pierantoni: I’ll tell you that the results were very encouraging right from the start. In the very first months we saw thousands of single-use containers saved in a short time and also a significant amount of CO2 equivalent saved. So I’d say the figures are definitely encouraging.
If you remember, the initial number of users was 30, the first ones who got started. 75% of them have used the container on an ongoing basis.
Rossella Meniccocci: And behind the scenes, how did the Camst staff take this change?
Laura Pierantoni: Well, I won’t hide the fact that at first there were some difficulties and some fears. If you remember, right at the beginning one of the main difficulties was customers coming to the self-service counter with the container and a smartphone. The container works as a kind of rental.
A QR code has to be scanned and our staff has to check the container out according to the dish the customer has chosen. Then it has to be returned within ten days, which means the staff have to check the container back in for washing, sanitising and the dishwasher. All these processes were genuinely new for the staff.
Within the first few weeks the staff had already adapted to this new way of working, and they were pleased to take part in the project. At the same time I’ll ask you: how did your colleagues take this new project?
Rossella Meniccocci: Well, you know, the request came precisely from my colleagues. They needed to produce less waste and therefore use reusable containers. They use it regularly and find it easy and convenient.
And I’ll also tell you that I keep getting requests from new users who would like to start using these containers and be part of the project. Do you remember what happened after I made the request to you? How did you get the whole thing going?
Laura Pierantoni: I was trying to come up with ideas to suggest to you. Then it occurred to me that I’m part of a group called Giovani Innovatori (Young Innovators). They are young people like me who have been working at Camst for several years, and we keep in touch to share innovation projects.
That morning I wrote a message in this WhatsApp group asking my colleagues to tell me about their experiences at the sites they look after. The first to reply was Gianluca Cristallo, who, not by chance, is the Innovation Manager at Camst. He told me that there was an Aroundrs project waiting for the right opportunity.
Shortly afterwards we spoke on the phone, he explained the project, I fully agreed that it would be useful and thought it was exactly what you needed. And what’s even more interesting is that the colleagues who followed this exchange keep asking me for feedback, because it is certainly a project that others could use too. The prospects are excellent.
