The disclosure of the sustainability reports shows the goals and results of the companies towards sustainable management, thus strengthening the relationship with the community in general. In this context, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was a pioneer in standardizing the information contained in these reports, bringing several advantages from previous models.
GK, one of the most solid and innovative groups in the Central American region, has presented its progress and objectives in terms of sustainability in its first Sustainability Report 2020-2022, which was verified in accordance with the GRI standards.
That commitment has allowed the company to lead the sustainable growth of communities through businesses as varied as textiles, industrial real estate, technology, agriculture, and lifestyle, starting operations more than 50 years ago in Pakistan, and successfully expanding to countries in the region such as Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala.
Its mission is to provide innovative and sustainable solutions through products and services that contribute to a better quality of life for people. Many of its businesses and developments have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications, which translates to cost competitive energy savings of 20-30% per project.
Among some of its environmental achievements to date are:
- 60% of the installed energy capacity in its operations comes from renewable sources.
- They have produced and planted more than 100,000 trees.
- 90% of their waste in administrative operations is recycled, and they hope to reach 100% by 2025.
These are just some of the many ways in which GK has strengthened its commitment to actively protect the environment.
Sustainable development is the foundation of GK
Mohammad Yusuf Amdani Bai, responsible for GK’s expansion strategies, and its Chairman, assured through the Sustainability Report that sustainability is the basis of the company’s management. It is for this reason that its operations are carried out with responsible business behavior, always seeking the benefit of its interested public to provide them with better opportunities.
“Through the GK Foundation we promote the greatest potential for sustainable growth for the communities and families with which we interact, all through the execution of solid projects in Health, Education, Nutrition and the Environment; we work very hard for our planet, we have multiple initiatives and a Decarbonization Plan, which will allow us to have the lowest environmental footprint per employee in the national business system.” Amdani commented.
GK’s business units have projects that seek to be environmentally sustainable through strategies that adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals focused on the environmental dimension. Among the initiatives they have developed are the following:
- SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): The Green Valley Advanced Manufacturing Hub water treatment plant has a capacity of more than 20,000 cubic meters per day of filtered and treated water in its operations.
- SDG 7 (Affordable and Non-Polluting Energy): The largest above-ground solar generation plant in Central America, has a capacity of 15 Megawatts, to produce more than 26,000,000 kWh per year.
- SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption): The implementation of the Circular Economy to reduce the carbon footprint, and promote the culture of reuse and recycling.
- SDG 13 (Climate Action): ISO 14001:2015 Certification is based on the ethical objective of guiding the organization to reduce significant environmental aspects, such as the carbon footprint, solid waste discharges, stationary discharges to sources of water, air and others.
To these initiatives are added other examples that demonstrate the Corporate Social Investment that GK has made in the social and economic dimensions to improve the quality of life of people both inside and outside its organization.