European Sustainable Development Week

Understanding the climate crisis, making amends, cycling: a week to remind us that sustainable development is part of everyday life.

For the third consecutive year, XLG took part in European Sustainable Development Week.

The goal for this week remains the same: to continue raising our teams' awareness of major environmental and social issues in a practical, friendly, and fun way.

This event fits naturally with our ESG slogan: “I’m taking action, too!” We are convinced that a sustainable approach is built with each and every one of our employees, through our actions and conversations.

The Week: Understanding, Discussing, and Taking Action

This session kicked off with “The Week,” a program created by Frédéric and Hélène Laloux. The concept is simple: in small groups, participants take part in three sessions lasting about 1 hour and 30 minutes each. Each session begins with a video and is followed by a discussion among colleagues.

As the sessions progress, everyone gains a better understanding of the scale of the ecological crisis and can talk about how it makes them feel, without judgment. Then the group works together to figure out how to take action, both individually and collectively. The Week doesn’t lecture—it opens up the discussion. That’s exactly what we wanted to offer our teams: a space to step back, share, and leave feeling motivated to take action.

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", the waste sorting edition

To refresh everyone’s knowledge of best practices, we organized a quiz on waste sorting in our various regions, inspired by the famous game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”

Trick questions and bursts of laughter: the format was a hit. And behind the game, the message got through. Sorting waste properly is easy once you know the rules, and every action counts.

(And besides, when there are jars of XLG honey up for grabs, that’s definitely a motivator!).

Special thanks to Astrid for taking the initiative!

Upcycling: A Second Life for Our Fabrics

An old piece of fabric can become something you'll want to keep. During our upcycling workshop, participants learned how to transform fabric scraps—including textiles in XLG's colors—into one-of-a-kind pouches.

They left with a handmade item and a new conviction: before throwing something away, we can often give it a new life. The circular economy sometimes starts with a few stitches.

September: Our Carbon Footprint and Free-Wheeling Mobility

Sustainable Development Week was the highlight of a month that had already been full of initiatives.

Our Carbon Footprint, Explained for Everyone. In September, a memo was distributed across all our hubs to present our carbon footprint. Understanding where our emissions come from is the first step toward reducing them, and we wanted every employee to have this information at their fingertips.

Mobility Week: Hop on Your Bike and Head to the French Fry Shop! During Mobility Week, we encouraged our teams to hop on their bikes. The hardest part is often just getting started, so we gave them a great reason to do it: a free order of fries at the end of the ride. It was a very Belgian incentive that convinced more than a few colleagues to leave their cars in the parking lot.

What now?

Three editions later, one thing is certain: sustainability at XLG isn't limited to just one week a year. Every action contributes to a momentum that continues day in and day out.

Thank you to everyone who participated, helped organize, and got involved. See you next year for the 4th edition, with even more ideas for taking action together.