Environmental Sustainability in Veritas’ Facilities

[SeanWPS]

At Veritas, we see our responsibility for environmental sustainability as an integral element of part of our global remit. With a global footprint, we embrace global thinking but deliver locally on multiple solutions and initiatives, with local site leadership supporting Sustainability at Veritas Empowered (SAVE) programs and initiatives. We think of the holistic well-being of the individual, the entire enterprise, and all business partners.  As my colleague, Raquel Alonso, noted last week, Veritas is committed to Environmental Sustainability in Veritas’ Supply Chain Process and this week, as the Director of Facilities, I want to share how Veritas is committed to environmental sustainability in Veritas' Facilities.

While COVID-19 has been challenging, it has been beneficial to the health of the planet. Between Earth Day 2020 and now, we have seen fewer cars on the road and planes in the skies. As a result, carbon emission rates are due to fall, at least temporarily. Fewer people on-site demand less power and those working from home are better able to respond quickly to waste and excess consumption. 

If world leaders had suggested in 2019 that everyone stay indoors to help reduce emissions, no one would have done it. The trade-offs seemed too great - but now that we have seen that we are capable of working together in times of deep crisis, we can no longer afford to think small about climate action.

Reception at the new Veritas Global Centre of Excellence in Balewadi, Pune, IndiaOur site’s posture represents this new generational thinking. While some actions during the pandemic worked in the opposite direction—especially recyclables and single-use/disposables—we’ve had the opportunity to take bold steps. For example, the new Veritas campus in Balewadi, India, is a Global Centre of Excellence, built to LEED Gold Integrated Design Approach, and will maintain operations to the highest international standard. These new ways include working to determine our internal air quality and productivity environment, as well as how we generate and process waste. It encompasses an integrative process, from location & transportation, to water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, the selection and use of materials & resources, our indoor environment, and the innovation and regional priority for the site. We have initiated transport program reviews to incorporate more electric vehicles and new ways of travelling, reducing our carbon emissions and environmental footprint.

We have always taken our commitment to environmental stewardship seriously, and we will continue to work with our global partners to do so. This also means more renewable energy procurement where options exist and more accurately calibrating our buildings systems to minimise the carbon footprint, and this means running our facilities operations as transparently as possible. COVID-19 has shown that corporations need to build continuity and resiliency into their operations. While the current focus is on the pandemic, we all need to further integrate climate change actions into everyday thinking—be it in its approach to governance, strategy, risk management, or measuring progress. 

Veritas is a global leader in data protection and provides industry-leading insight and analysis for global enterprises; we’re committed to uniting corporate sustainability efforts with tangible facilities site activities, together with our partners, to preserve the environment. This pandemic has proven that individual behaviors do matter for long-term sustainability in facilities operations, this was never more true.

Throughout April, the employee-led sustainability program, SAVE, will be sharing stories of our local initiatives that increase environmental awareness and how Veritas leverages technology to measure and drive energy conservation and reduce its carbon footprint worldwide. We invite you to learn more about Veritas’ corporate responsibility for environmental sustainability.