As many as 52% of Poles declare that they would like to implement zero-waste principles in their lives (without generating waste), but many of them (28%) see obstacles in the form of lack of systemic support. A quarter of respondents point to the high cost of such a life and the lack of sufficient knowledge on this subject. The research on a nationwide, representative group of the country’s inhabitants was carried out on behalf of the Veolia Polska Foundation.

In response to the need to increase knowledge and competences signaled by respondents as the main barrier to not engaging in ecological trends in cities, the Veolia Polska Foundation has developed a report entitled REPAIRERS OF THE WORLD. It explains the latest social trends that change life in cities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change, allowing cities and their inhabitants to function in a sustainable and harmonious way.

The report analyzes 10 key trends, which include:

• Increasing water retention in cities
• Greening of cities
• Neighborhood cleaning
• Repair cafes
• Organized sharing of items and things used in dividers and giveboxes
• Conscious shopping and limiting consumption
• Planetary diet – giving up or limiting meat and sugar
• Fighting food waste
• Sustainable urban transport (with a special focus on pedestrians)
• Zero-waste activism

These trends show changes in 3 areas: (1) care for the environment, (2) conscious changes in lifestyle and habits, and (3) care for interpersonal relationships.

„In thirty years, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. That is why they will feel the consequences of climate change the most severely – says Izabela Rakuć-Kochaniak, President of the Management Board of the Veolia Polska Foundation, Director for Veolia Energia Polska.CSR. „Effectively combating adverse climate change requires all of us to act immediately, to make profound and long-term social and economic changes. Our report is a source of inspiration and practical knowledge for all those who want to join the efforts to save the climate and improve the quality of life of city dwellers.

The REPAIRERS OF THE WORLD report contains the results of research commissioned by the Veolia Polska Foundation by the SW Research research institute in July 2022. They are a diagnosis of the awareness and attitudes of Poles towards ecological trends. The starting point for the research was the desire to analyze the movement of repair cafes, which the Veolia Polska Foundation has been supporting since 2019 as part of the RepairMY with Veolia program.

„With this report, we are reversing the narrative,” says Izabela Rakuć-Kochaniak. „We don’t want to expose ourselves to threats that sometimes seem too abstract to oppose. The starting point of our reflection was the example of great people who are involved in the repair cafe movement as part of our program: Repair with Veolia. We called them „repairers of the world”, because every day they try to repair not only objects, but also interpersonal relationships.

The Repair with Veolia program was created as a base and at the same time an inspiration for the movement of repair cafes in Poland. Its aim is to systematically support social innovations based on the idea of zero waste. Initiated by the Veolia Polska Foundation, it is a grant and has so far helped to create 16 repair cafes in 9 cities Polish. Repair cafes, as a meeting place for the local community integrating around repairing faulty equipment, allow you to repair m.in clothing, furniture, bicycles or equipment of people with disabilities or give things a second life through upcycling (i.e. processing objects to give them a completely new function, e.g. melting cans and making other metal objects).

Source: press inf.

Source: https://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/aktualno%C5%9Bci/raport-naprawiacze-swiata-juz-dostepny/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.