Sustainability

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Our committment

At Quelaris we contribute toward a more sustainable industry, with the firm intention of continuously improving our strategy to achieve this goal.

We are committed to doing our part to build a circular economy and mitigate current plastic pollution. By implementing solutions to stop packaging leakage in our supply process, we are driving efforts to take responsibility and reduce waste.

Small actions, big impact

We are implementing various measures to protect and optimize the use of resources, while minimizing the impact that our business activities have on the environment.
Moving away from paper
At Quelaris Costa Rica, paper consumption was reduced in 2020 during covid-19 virtual office situation. However, the team committed to improve this effort, expecting to be fully paperless by 2022. Other subsidiaries are also joining this effort.
Creative upcycling
Our employees find creative ways to upcycle and repurpose warehouse items. The Quelaris team has constructed tables, chairs, and benches out of wooden pallets, that are useful around the warehouse. Some clients also benefit.
Inclusion and plastic reuse
Our partnership with Costa Rican NGO Red Costaricense de Turismo Accesible, is allowing handicapped population to access beaches and national parks by collecting, and recycling plastics and transforming.
More reuse, more trees
To do our part in cutting the produce-consume-dispose mentality and extend the life cycle of packaging as long as possible, we find suitable partners that make the best possible use of wooden pallets used in our imports to give them a new life.

Other eco-efficient initiatives include:

  • Feasibility studies for solar energy sources.
  • Optimize dispatch routes to save fuel and reduce emissions.
  • Warehouses designed with maximization of natural lighting.
  • Development of internal recycling programs.
  • Reuse of IBC containers, reducing water contamination and extending the useful life of the IBC.

Quelaris internal policies and code of conduct reflect our concern to have a responsible operation that ensures the safety of the personnel. Some of our efforts include:

  • Continuous inspections of transport units and warehouses to identify and prevent accidents.
  • Training of personnel in fire management and first aid.
  • Training in safe handling of hazardous materials.
  • Individualized accident and incident prevention plans.

Moving away from paper

At Quelaris Costa Rica, paper consumption was reduced in 2020 during covid-19 virtual office situation. However, the team committed to improve this effort, expecting to be fully paperless by 2022. Other subsidiaries are also joining this effort.

This initiative is saving not only trees, but also benefiting in time and cost savings, as well as increased document security. Quelaris Costa Rica is also joining the Bandera Azul Ecologica Program in 2021 to continue implementation of ecoefficiency solutions.

Creative upcycling

Our employees find creative ways to upcycle and repurpose warehouse items. The Quelaris team has constructed tables, chairs, and benches out of wooden pallets, that are useful around the warehouse.

Some clients also benefit from this creativity: the metal structures that protect flexitanks in the containers are skillfully transformed into a pedestal type structure to hold the IBC at clients’ production sites.

Inclusion and plastic reuse

Our partnership with Costa Rican NGO Red Costaricense de Turismo Accesible, is allowing handicapped population to access beaches and national parks by collecting, and recycling plastics and transforming them into walkways and wheelchairs.

Through our high involvement in their Dona Tapa program, not only do we avoid plastic to end up in landfills, but we impact positively the access of people on handicap condition to natural areas in Costa Rica.

More reuse, more trees

To do our part in cutting the produce-consume-dispose mentality and extend the life cycle of packaging as long as possible, we find suitable partners that make the best possible use of wooden pallets used in our imports to give them a new life.

For instance, Ecologystic in Peru has transformed the pallets we donate into useful furniture recycling stations. 50 tons of pallets have been reused with this initiative, saving hundreds of trees, while generating jobs and reinforcing further the recycling message in the communities where we operate.