In the new episode of the podcastsDialogues with ECO" de Dilograf Labels, Sandra Mercé, Head of Marketing and Communication, talk to Cristina Alonso, Head of Non-Food and Merchandising at Areas Iberia, leading international company in catering and travel retail.
“In a company like Areas, putting sustainability into practice means making a real commitment to customers,” says Cristina Alonso.
The “Areas for Change” framework has allowed Areas to clearly structure, explain, and communicate all its sustainability work. “Areas for Change” promotes open innovation initiatives, such as international challenges aimed at startups and companies that can provide solutions to challenges the company cannot address on its own. These challenges are now in their fourth edition. Thanks to the company's international presence, many of these solutions can be tested and implemented in different countries.
At Areas, one of the biggest challenges in applying sustainability criteria has been overcoming the barrier of shared responsibility among all stakeholders in the ecosystem. “Increasing legislation requires multiple changes and adaptations, but our activity depends heavily on the grantors of the spaces in which we operate, which adds complexity to the implementation of many initiatives,” Alonso adds.
When selecting products, materials, and formats, Areas works directly with manufacturers. “Based on the company’s internal sustainability criteria, we prioritize certified materials and solutions that offer guarantees aligned with our standards. This can translate into material changes, product replacements, or even the development of new lines of work,” explains Cristina Alonso in the podcast.
For Areas, the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) has brought about a change in how sustainability is understood and managed. “The challenge now is not just reporting, but using all that information to make better decisions. It’s about finding the balance between regulatory compliance and the real capacity for business transformation,” he says.
Finally, Cristina Alonso concludes by saying that “the ultimate goal is for sustainability to cease being a one-off obligation and become naturally integrated into the company's DNA and its usual way of operating… Sustainability will be fully integrated into Areas.”
