An In-Depth Look at Our Sustainability Report 2021: The “S-Word” Report

Did you know that every email you send can account for 0.03g to 26g of C02 emissions? This month we released our S-Word Report which explored the ways in which we’ve introduced sustainability into the way we run our company. We want to be held accountable for our emissions and have open discussions on how companies can make a positive impact!

Our most important sustainable goal for the coming years is to become a B Corporation by 2026. This means that we will become certified in our social and environmental performance. We want to ensure that all of our clients know just how important sustainability is to us by completing the certification!

So let’s take an in-depth look at our report together, while walking you through the steps we’ve taken to become a more sustainable company. Throughout the report, we’ve outlined what we’ve done, what we are doing, and what we plan to do in the future. We hope this report and our efforts will help, motivate, and inspire you to care about our world and community as much as we do!

We would love to hear any suggestions, ideas, or criticism so don’t hesitate to contact Natascha at natascha@rupp-pr.com!

Environmental Responsibility

Starting off with the first pillar of sustainability, we are truly dedicated to the environment and taking accountability for our treatment of the Earth. We have taken the time to offset all of our carbon dioxide emissions – even going as far as to over-offset to make sure we’ve got it all covered.

Carbon Offsetting

So far, we have made sure to track everything. And we mean everything. From the shipping of a package, to our office supplies, to individual carbon dioxide emissions, we have made sure to find the best sustainable products to use and ways to run our company.

We take environmental responsibility extremely seriously and we think we are doing, as Natascha puts it, “a pretty good job in the environment aspect”. So far, we have made sure to track everything. And we mean everything. From the shipping of a package, to our office supplies, to individual carbon dioxide emissions, we have made sure to find the best sustainable products to use and ways to run our company.

Sustainable Practices at the Office

We also work remotely. This is a great way to maintain a sustainable company lifestyle as there are less everyday emissions for usual work issues such as daily commute and it allows us to hire from anywhere – tying in neatly with our social responsibility category.

For example, while we have offset all of our office materials, we’ve also made sure that most of these materials come from sustainable companies such as our notebooks and paper provided by Sloan Stationary. A company that uses 100% vegan materials and donates some of their profits to charities. We try to use applications that value sustainability such as Slack. We also work remotely. This is a great way to maintain a sustainable company lifestyle as there are less everyday emissions for usual work issues such as daily commute and it allows us to hire from anywhere – tying in neatly with our social responsibility category.

There is always room for improvement and we know that we aren’t perfect. We are always on the lookout for better products and suppliers that can help us become completely environmentally friendly!

Social Responsibility

All of us at Rupp RP agree that if there’s one pillar we do well, it’s our social responsibility. From our team members to our client selection to our NGO, we put in great amounts of effort to be truly diverse and use our company to benefit the local and international communities.

Diversity in Our Team

Our team members are incredibly diverse. With each member coming from a completely different country and having a different background, we are truly proud of how far we stretch around the world.

Our team members are incredibly diverse. With each member coming from a completely different country and having a different background, we are truly proud of how far we stretch around the world. Natascha comments on how difficult it is to find jobs in Germany without the ability to speak German, “We offer jobs to people without the language barrier. It doesn’t matter where they come from. We have no criteria to discriminate against people coming from abroad.”

We are also incredibly proud of our female driven team and the empowerment that comes with it. One of our future goals, however, is to expand that team by getting more men on board! We value diversity and we think that having people from all backgrounds would be a great benefit to our company!

Our very own NGO

We take volunteer work very seriously with Natascha founding her very own NGO, Eunoia e.V. Right now, we are working on financing school construction in South Africa. What really makes this project stand out? The school is constructed entirely out of recycled rubber! Check out the picture above to see how the project is coming along! We also want to make sure that our team members value volunteer work, so starting 2023, each member will be given one paid day per quarter to volunteer for a charity they find important.

Sustainable Clients are Important to Us

Natascha thinks that it's extremely important to work with “purpose driven companies”.

We love our clients and we want to make sure that they love us too, especially our values. When onboarding a new client we send them a quick questionnaire in order to better understand their values and goals. Natascha explains that the survey looks at “what clients want, which UN SDGs they work with, and what their purpose is”, she thinks that it's extremely important to work with “purpose driven companies”. Since we think company culture is important, Natascha says that “working with people that have a good working environment, respecting their employees, and having a good company culture” is what we look for in new clients.

“We all like to work, we want to work. It’s like friends that work together, which is not something easily found.” – Chiara

We are Proud of Our Company Culture

At Rupp PR, we pride ourselves on our company culture. As one of our team members, Chiara, says, “We all like to work, we want to work. It’s like friends that work together, which is not something easily found.” Alina explains that the reason we stay so productive is due to “flexibility and the respect that everyone has for one another.” She says that Rupp PR provides “A space to grow and learn while understanding new perspectives. Everyone can work on the things they are passionate about and do their best.” She sums it up perfectly by saying that “We stay honest and trust each other. We accept each other for the way we are and that is the rewarding and motivating part of the job.” With our internal diversity, flexibility, and great company culture, we are constantly working on the social pillar.

Economical Responsibility

The economic aspect of sustainability is often overlooked, but as Natascha tells us, a local economy can benefit the local community. In order to benefit our local community, as well as the larger travel community, we are incredibly excited to work with MA People starting at the end of 2022. This partnership will help empower sustainable businesses and hopefully give back to the local economy.

A Spotlight on Our Upcoming Partnership

Natascha explains that by working with them, “we ensure that there is a continuity between the original concept and communicating this to travelers.”

MA People is a boutique consultancy for the hospitality industry. We love them because their speciality is sustainability, just like ours! They focus on working on the operational front in terms of concept creation for a hotel. We come in afterwards once the concept is created and we help promote the client! Natascha explains that by working with them, “we ensure that there is a continuity between the original concept and communicating this to travelers.”

Through this partnership, we hope to create an “all around approach to sustainable travel”!

This partnership is founded on a mutual love for sustainability and seeing more sustainable options become available within the tourism industry. Natascha hopes that “it will have an all around positive impact on the travel industry, from creating a concept, to communication, to getting it to the consumer.” Through this partnership, we hope to create an “all around approach to sustainable travel”!

Our Calculations

The emissions calculations were done by our wonderful Chiara. She says that it’s quite difficult to create a sustainability report as there is no set guide. She decided to make her own outline using estimations. Since these are only estimations and not every company releases a sustainability report, she offset more than necessary and rounded our values up to make sure that we covered everything.

Part of our offsetting was done through the Green Forest Fund, a charity based in Germany. This charity focuses on helping trees, making sure that they are planted and stay planted.

Our Conclusions…

“While environmental aspects are important, social and economic aspects are crucial to us as well and both are often neglected.”

Sustainability is key to the future and wellbeing of our planet. Natascha outlines that, “While environmental aspects are important, social and economic aspects are crucial to us as well and both are often neglected.” However, becoming sustainable takes effort and time. “It’s a constant struggle of finding balance,” Natascha says. Chiara explains that it’s “hard to balance profit with sustainability.”

The Three Pillars

The environmental aspects, which are extremely important, usually outshine the other two pillars of sustainability which makes it difficult to find that balance. Natascha says that “Sustainability also means providing people with a better lifestyle, ensuring people can pay their bills, and helping the economy grow sustainably.” This sentiment is extremely important for those wanting to create a more sustainable company. While the environmental aspects are critical, do not ignore the other two pillars. These can be achieved by focusing on company culture, social involvement with the local community, and creating social projects. Natascha says that the most difficult part is to “grow your company in a way where it positively affects both your business and the social environment but does not negatively affect the Earth’s environment.”

Our Motivation to be Sustainable

What motivates her is simple: “To live in a better world and to allow generations to come to experience the world the way we get to experience it.”

While becoming sustainable is difficult, Natascha eloquently explores the inspiration and motivation behind her desire to be sustainable. “We all want a better world, we all want to maintain the beauty of the world we live in,” she says, “We want to make the negative elements better.” What motivates her is simple: “To live in a better world and to allow generations to come to experience the world the way we get to experience it.” What does she mean by this? The way we get to experience the world is full of privilege and she wants “the people now and the people that follow to have the same experience.”

Companies Can Be a Force for Good

“Especially in the travel industry,” Natascha says, “companies can be a force for good.”

There is a lot of hope for the future and companies can greatly contribute to a positive future. “Especially in the travel industry,” Natascha says, “companies can be a force for good.” She explains how, while governments move slow and it takes a while for them to implement change, companies can be a lot quicker. This is because companies know how to adapt quickly in order to survive in the world of ever changing consumerism. If companies can make sustainability a standard to which they hold themselves accountable, then consumers will change their behavior. They will want to buy into those ideas and products and we already see this happening with a growing demand for sustainable goods.

Your Responsibility

We hope that our sustainability report has provided you with some insight into our company values. Don’t hesitate to create a sustainability report for your own company and see where you can start to implement real change. We hope we’ve inspired you to focus on sustainability in your own business or life and you’ll join us in creating a more sustainable planet!

Don’t forget to contact Natascha at natascha@rupp-pr.com with any of your thoughts, ideas, or comments! We can’t wait to hear from you!