We’re only a few days away from World Earth Day, a time when companies and individuals show their support for environmental protection and activism.

In honour of Earth Day, we wanted to highlight the sustainability achievements at one of Testronic’s largest operational centers:  our Warsaw location. The location is 5,500 square meters and houses nearly 600 staff. Over the past couple of years, the office space has made considerable efforts to make its workplace more sustainable, headed up by Administration and Environmental Specialist Natalia Sieniewicz. We speak to her about the programme.

Why is making the studio a more sustainable environment important to you personally – and to the wider Testronic team?

I am a geographer, so the environment has always been of interest to me. I believe that taking care of the environment means taking care of people and future generations. Soon after I joined Testronic, I realised we had an opportunity to make Testronic greener. Working with young, enthusiastic people in the games industry is allowing us to shape pro-ecological attitudes and raise awareness. We are also seeing attitudes changing globally, with more people thinking about green issues, and acting accordingly.

Who has been involved in the campaign?

The administration team started the movement. We have created an eco-team within our site which operates as a think tank, where we exchange ideas and propositions. The team includes people at different levels, in a multitude of roles, and with varying experiences. That means we have different perspectives, and it helps us to build engagement across the company.

What initiatives have you put in place to date?

Well the Warsaw office is not only thinking greener – we are also taking action to minimise our carbon footprint. The biggest change was replacing fluorescent lamps with LED lights with movement sensors. This change not only minimises the power usage (and thereby limiting carbon emission by an energy producer), but it has also eradicated the highly toxic waste typically generated by the older lamps.

We started the ‘Clean Up the World with Testronic’ event which coincides with Clean Up the World Day, where our colleagues gather to clean up areas in and around Warsaw together. It’s grown in popularity every year since it’s inception in 2021. We further reduce waste by sewing laptop sleeves out of the expired roll-up banners which would have otherwise been thrown away.

To save water we are using taps with movement sensors. We also got rid of bottled water and now have filtered water dispensers plugged into the water supply.

In co-operation with our landlord, we created more bicycle parking spots, and have made a set of basic bicycle tools available – both initiatives to encourage more cycling to work.

Just recently, we have switched from alcohol-based hand sanitisers to those infused with silver, which are less harmful for our environment. Of course, we have been using eco-friendly printing paper for some time.

And once a year, Testronic sponsors tree planting with our partner, WeForest. The organisation works with governments, local organisations and communities to restore threatened forests and landscapes in tropical regions and biodiversity hotspots. Through our involvement, Testronic has sponsored the planting of over 25,000 trees in Brazil and Africa in the last three years.

What response have you had from the Testronic leadership team?

It’s been very well received as you’d imagine. In fact, the Testronic leadership team is implementing some of our solutions in other locations, which is great news.

What have been your biggest successes?

Without a doubt, our biggest achievement has been receiving the Cleaner Production Certificate. It is an ISO certification, a formal confirmation that we have successfully implemented a series of required measures in the development of an environmental management system.

What’s next?

Our next steps will be offsetting, and then diving deeper into our carbon footprint. Of course, we’ll keep our existing initiatives ongoing, and continually raising awareness with all of our colleagues! We are also sharing our experience and lessons learned with our own services providers. Check back with us next year!

Click here to find out more about World Earth Day.