Quable goes green: our eco-friendly approach

The Quablers*… (*Quable employees, of course)

They come in five days a week…

They bring their snacks, triple-wrapped in plastic…

They fill a 70-litre bin every lunchtime…

They think the yellow bin is just a duplicate of the green one…

They ask for a bag and cutlery to take their lunch away…

They think bees sting…

They use the exercise bike at the gym but ride a scooter to the office…

And one day, one of them woke up feeling a bit greener than on other mornings. Her name is Caroline Colin, Office Manager at Quable, and in the space of a year, she has profoundly changed the habits of an entire neighbourhood.

A zero-waste snack corner

First step: snacking! Every Quabler used to bring in their own snacks, which Yuka didn’t approve of. This posed two problems:

• The consumption of snacks in individual sachets or over-packaged packets
• While the mind was healthy, the body… not always

To remedy this, Caroline set up a partnership with Délicorner to create a snack area containing:

• Seasonal fruit
• Artisan biscuits and dried fruit sold loose in reusable jars
• Freshly squeezed juices
• Coffee from a Parisian roastery

The corner is restocked every week, and deliveries are made on foot or by bike to ensure the initiative remains fully sustainable.

Waste sorting? We’ve said ‘YES’

Total confusion about the sorting method. “Which bin does this go in?”, “I can’t throw that in there, it’s dirty”. Heated discussions, pros and cons, action and counter-action… Yes, put out a second bin in a different colour and everything goes haywire.

The key to successful waste sorting at Quable was clearly not just the introduction of a second bin, but rather the internal communication campaign on the subject. Posters with infographics to help staff remember the rules for sorting waste, internal emails, and regular awareness-raising for Quablers. Now, the yellow bin doesn’t scare anyone; some have even got to grips with it…

Finally, for organic waste, a compost bin is currently being set up to collect coffee grounds and the peelings from fruit eaten by Quablers. And to ensure the compost can fulfil its purpose, it is collected once a week by our partner.

Our greatest source of pride: involving local restaurants in the initiative

We’re lucky to be located in a neighbourhood where the food is good. Whilst there are plenty of good restaurants, the team has its favourites and even considers itself a ‘regular’ at around ten of them. As tastes vary from one Quabler to another, and from one lunch to the next, everyone picks up their takeaway lunch to eat on the premises. It’s certainly sociable, but less eco-friendly when you consider the number of cutlery sets, plastic containers and bags brought in every day.

Caroline then asked her favourite restaurant owner if he could provide glass containers in exchange for a deposit. It was an instant hit! The idea was then taken up by enthusiastic Quablers, and one thing led to another: local shopkeepers began offering the same service and encouraging the initiative.

“Local shopkeepers have to place regular orders for containers to meet the high demand.”

These restaurant owners now offer this deposit scheme to their regulars, and it is no longer just Quable that benefits from the initiative, but the whole neighbourhood. A local initiative that has been well received by everyone, according to these shopkeepers.

“All across Belleville, from midday onwards, you see processions of hungry Quablers proudly carrying a glass container in their hands.”

A green thumb in a velvet glove

The Quable offices are situated in the centre of a large, paved inner courtyard. A haven of peace amidst the hustle and bustle of Paris, the place attracts the curiosity of passers-by with its originality. The micro-neighbourhood of Sainte-Marthe, for its part, has a strong artistic character: studios, colourful shop fronts, street art and greenery lining the streets bear witness to this.

On this last point, Quable decided to lead the way by applying to Paris City Hall for a permit to green the courtyard. Granted!

Plants, flowers and, above all, aromatic herbs are now available to add a touch of flavour to our lunches. According to Caroline, the idea has a dual purpose:

• To help create a natural ecosystem in the courtyard of our premises (insects, bees, etc.)
• To promote wellbeing at work for Quablers

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By bike!

Scooters, cars… let’s avoid them! Quable does, of course, contribute towards the cost of public transport season tickets, but that’s not all. Caroline has introduced a cycling bonus to encourage Quablers to invest in energy-efficient modes of transport. The result: the cycle rack welcomes new arrivals every month. Whether vintage, sports bikes or electric bikes, everyone parks there.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was Quable, nor was the PIM. Caroline tells us about her daily mission to raise awareness and estimates that it took at least three months to achieve good buy-in for the project and see an improvement in everyone’s habits.

“The Quablers are on board, but I have to keep communicating on a daily basis to ensure that support for the project keeps growing. That said, feedback is always well received, which proves that everyone genuinely wants to do the right thing.”

She concludes with this lovely saying: “Saving energy takes energy”… BOOM, TCHAK!