OREANDA-NEWS. DIXY Group is developing an integrated environmental program known as "Neighbors on the Planet" which includes a list of civic and corporate initiatives in environmental protection and energy saving. Within a year, the program evolved and was enriched with new projects and, based on it, a document was drawn up and approved underlying the company's environmental policy.

One of the large-scale projects the chain uses to involve its customers in the solution of environmental problems is the deployment of garbage containers for separate types of waste near the company's "neighborhood" stores: residents of nearby apartment buildings can bring in waste to be reprocessed - paper, glass jars and bottles as well as aluminum cans and plastic bottles. Over the year since the opening of reprocessing collection centers, the customers have already collected over 13.7 tons of glass, 3.5 tons of plastic, 300 kilos of aluminum.

"Analyzing the results of the initiative, we are glad our initiative has elicited a response among our customers; many are requesting that we expand the map of stores and include "their" DIXY in the program. But we see that environmental education of the public is in very short supply - there are still townspeople who use the containers as regular garbage cans, which makes subsequent sorting a much more tiresome and expensive effort", - says Ekaterina Kumanina, Public relations and government affairs director of DIXY Group.

The numerous environmental initiatives are reflected in a corporate document, the company's environmental policy. Underlying it are DIXY's principles, purposes and commitments in environmental protection and rational use of natural resources.

Within the framework of environmental policy implementation, early this year DIXY launched a corporate communication project, "the Green Office". Installed in the offices of the company are more than 20 "green" printers making frugal use of paper possible; there has also been organized a "book-crossing" effort that gives books once read a new lease on life.

Since 2012, DIXY has been supporting a "Save a Tree" project, and employees of the retailer have amassed more than 6.6 tons of waste paper.

All the distribution centers of the chain are equipped with energy-saving devices and industrial presses for the processing of non-recyclable plastic, woos and cardboard.