ISS Relocations has embraced the criticality of pursuing sustainable development goals by implementing modest steps within the organization. With that in mind, we have started several CSR and sustainability programs to give back to the community and preserve the environment. One such step was the formation of a CSR & Sustainability Core Team to create a platform for planning, adapting, and continuously reviewing corporate responsibility actions among the stakeholders. This team developed the CSR manual, policies & SOPs, Environmental Management System, Health & Safety procedures, and implemented compliance certifications like ISO14000, 26000 and EcoVadis.

CSR initiatives have been started targeted toward environmental sustainability and “net Zero”, including tree planting, clean-up drives, giving back to society, supporting the needy, improving waste management systems, health is wealth, energy saving actions, recycling projects, and more.

ISS has also adopted many new and emerging technologies to make our industry more sustainable, including:

• Digitization of job handling from the time of first leads/inquiry to the completion of delivery with the help of a customized CRM. A survey app in place of paper-based manual surveys is also used by the survey consultants.

• A Logistics Inventory App was introduced in 2021 to shift to paperless operations. This app helps us to prepare packing inventories electronically and send them to the customer as well as the destination agent without printing and scanning.

• GPS enabled fleet and AMC with Bedtco for fuelling trucks at our warehouse premises. By arranging GPS tracking on all our fleet and forklifts, we could watch, review, and improve their fuel efficiency. We managed to reduce the fuel consumption from 47,524 litres to 42,629 in 2022.

• Groupage containers (Consolidation of smaller shipments) to a common destination for cost-effective and energy saving moves. This possibility helps for cost-efficient move opportunities. Also, it is eco-friendly and supports energy savings, and is therefore considered one of the best sustainable shipping solutions. In 2022, ISS managed 452 export shipments via the groupage option, totalling 5658.57 cbm, which is equivalent to 188 TEUs.

• Energy saving initiatives: We replaced all normal lighting systems with energy-efficient LED lamps at office and warehouses. Also, we used transparent roof sheets to allow natural light into the warehouse, along with heat resistant roofing to reduce temperature inside. We also implemented RO water systems in place of canned water to avoid plastic containers.

• Integrated fuelling technology: We have implemented fuelling our fleet at our premises by an app-based fuel supply technology, “Go fuel.” This helps our transport division with the most efficient fuelling, tracking, watching and review of performance.

• Green & clean workspace: Another initiative to make the workspace healthy, lively, and promote positivity among the workers. “Health is wealth” gives opportunities to take part in and practice various sports/gymnastics activities organized by our company.

• Reuse, Recycle & Renovate: In 2021-22, our wooden boxes recycling project retrieved 2,400 wooden shipping boxes from an import project and reused the plywood/white wood for various packaging purposes, including crates, pallets, liftvans, wooden boxes and even wooden panelling in our crew room. The unpacked/unwrapped cartons, bubble film and wooden crates from 700+ imports and other deliveries were retrieved by the crew, cleaned, and sorted and stored at the designated location for recycled materials for potential local and storage moves within the city in the year 2022. Also, we implemented a reward program to encourage the families who allowed us to move them by using recycled/one-time used cartons—our “plant a tree” initiative.

ISS Relocations UAE is partnered with EEG 

(Emirates Environmental Group) on various environmental sustainability initiatives in the region, including:

• ISS provided volunteers and fleet service assistance to EEG’s OROC (One Root, One Communi-tree) Phase I and II projects. This was part of the endeavour for waste collection with the help of various corporate entities in the region.

• The ISS team donated 10,614 kgs (10.614 tons) of carton/paper waste and 385 kgs of plastic in the OROC Phase II campaign in October-November 2022, and obtained eligibility for planting 8 trees in UAE’s prestigious “For our Emirates we plant” project in December 2022.

• “Used Can Collection Campaign” is an ongoing project of EEG throughout the year, and ISS Relocations team is proud of volunteering and supporting with our fleet of services for the last one and a half years.

• “Clean UAE” is another project the ISS team is associated with, involving outdoor waste collection in all Emirates in the UAE.

• ISS Relocations uses every opportunity to take part in community initiatives and services, and discussions in the region. Our representatives have taken part in Panel Discussions “Circular Economy—Taking Packing Full Circle” and “GISD—Climate Finance Gap” conducted at Dubai in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Associated with Dar Al Ber Society

• Giving back to the community: The ISS team collects usable household effects from relocating families and donates them to the poor through local partnerships with Dar Al Ber Society.

• 100 meals a month is another initiative by ISS team. The funding for this activity comes from the sale of unpacked debris by our operations team.

EcoVadis Network

• ISS Relocations is certified by EcoVadis for Sustainability, which opens the doors of opportunity to have a global network partner working together for sustainable development. This certification helps us to authenticate our actions through strict audits and checks. Also, we get opportunities for various training programs, awareness sessions and discussions, as well as opportunities to learn more about sustainability.

• Association with various organizations, agents, and supply chain networks keeps us active in CSR and sustainability. We are a proud winner of the Green Award for sustainability in 2022 by the Asian Relocation Association.

We believe that sustainable development and caring for society is essential for an efficient business environment. Sustainability is nothing but integrating the environment, people, and economy. Long term sustainability goals go hand in hand with the organization’s business goals. Being sustainably engaged in business may not be possible without being financially sound. On the other hand, implementation of non-financial management systems like ESG, Labour & Human Rights, Business Ethics and Sustainable Procurement is also crucial for a successful business these days.

• Here are some of the ways ISS educates our customers about the importance of sustainability in the moving industry:

• Networking and partnerships with the customers, agents, and vendors.

• Engaging customers with various sustainability and CSR programs for awareness of the importance of a circular economy.

• Encouraging customers by giving rewards for eco-friendly initiatives like the use of recycled cartons and contributing unused household effects to support the needy.

• Circulating our e-newsletter “Ohana” with articles and pictures about our sustainability initiatives.

• A dedicated CSR & Sustainability page on our website that displays our actions.

Being a company that spends its time to give back to the environment and the community is something ISS believes in and implements in our day-to-day activities. We are sure this will set a benchmark for the industry, and we keep striving to achieve more in terms of protecting the environment, thus preserving our environment for future generations to come!