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Partnering with University of Minho - Project Presentation

Last month took place the closing session of our partnership with the University of Minho, but in fact it marked only the beginning of a new era to FLM!

Partnering with University of Minho - Project Presentation

In the beginning of June took place the closing session of the a partnership between FLMTEXTIL and University of Minho. And you would think that this would be the closure of a cycle, however, it's actually the contraire for us, as these two days marked the beggining of a new journey towards new goals, best and improved services and overal growth of the company.

Over the past few months, 12 teams of 3rd year students and a team of tutors, from the Degree in Management at the School of Economics and Management at University of Minho, have visited and studied FLMTEXTIL, with the aim of presenting proposals for the current gaps that are still present in our company.

presentation 1

presentation 2

The proposals would have to be based on the requirements of the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), which is an international standard that attests to the commitment of organizations, and consequently of their products, with the 3 pillars of sustainability: Circular Economy, Social Responsibility and Environment. The GRS standard was strategically selected for being the one that best accommodates FLMTEXTIL's vision of growth.

The GRS standard focuses on three broad sets of requirements, social, environmental and chemical requirements. Regarding chemical requirements, FLMTEXTIL only has the duty to ensure that its suppliers comply with the standard, which is done through declarations of conformity, like REACH, and certifications, such as GRS.

In relation to social requirements, the proposals focused essentially on two subgroups: one of them being the social environment, in which the company operates through social responsibility actions; and the other being the business's employees. With regard to social responsibility, several proposals were made related to volunteering actions focused on various causes of interest to both society and the firm, including: blood donations; food collections; raw material donations; forest clearing and proposals for partnerships with local institutions. Regarding employees, several solutions were proposed to promote healthier habits; training actions; team building activities to strengthen relationships as well as incentive systems as a motivational factor. 

growing towards sustainability

Concerning environmental requirements, proposals were presented for the efficient management of resources and waste. We got insight into some alternatives to the use of plastics, proposals for saving resources such as water and electricity; for energy autonomy, through the use of solar panels; for waste management and the restructuring of facilities for greater energy efficiency.

Some students went a step further and supplied us with material to increase the organization's notoriety, such as marketing plans and blog posts, which soon will be published.

There was a genuine concern on the part of the teams to present solutions that really fit the needs of FLMTEXTIL and its employees, it was very clear all the effort, all the work and all the care with which they built the proposals and how to implement them.

The tutors also played a fundamental role in the quality of the proposals, as they accompanied and guided all the students' work towards excellence, giving them insight into turning theory into practicality.

Thank you Team 4

student presenting

There is now an internal analysis of each assignment to evaluate their feasibility in the short and long run and, later on, determine the timeline for the implementation of the viable proposals, which will dictate the start of yet another certification project.

This is another step that FLMTEXTIL takes towards achieving its goal of being an agent of change, both for its employees, for its comunity and for the planet. We know that there is still a long way to go, but we believe that it is with small steps that a future can be built.

Clapping for FLM

by Elisa Tinoco
 

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