CENN to Support East Point’s Green Initiatives
Environmental protection- the care and respect of the world and nature in which we live and on which we depend for survival; reduce, recycle, reuse- the modern buzzwords we all have in mind, many recognize the need for, but few know how to implement effectively. In Georgia, it is largely thanks to the initiatives of businesses and NGOs that we are being helped along the way, with awareness also growing higher up, in government and city halls, of the need to do more to look after our planet.
One positive move in this direction was the signing, on July 13, of a four-party memorandum to assist in the environmental protection and sustainable development of the country. The signees of the memorandum, which was initiated by the East Point Shopping & Entertainment Center, were the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall, environmental organisation CENN and the East Point Shopping & Entertainment City itself. From the minute it was signed by the parties, it became active for an indefinite period, meaning the four will be working closely together to raise the public’s awareness on the need for environmental protection, and to deepen and share knowledge and experience. The memorandum will, above all, aim to inspire the public to take greater responsibility for environmental protection.
By signing the memorandum, all of the parties agreed, depending on their competence and possibilities, to back events organized and implemented by any of the other signees related to solving environmental problems and which are in line with the principles of environment protection. In short, by working together, they will be boosting the overall impact of each of their environmental protection goals.
East Point now offers its customers:
- An electric battery collection point;
- Mobile charging station for electric cars, free of charge;
- recycling corners for various types of waste like plastic, aluminium and glass.
GEORGIA TODAY spoke to Teiko Lominadze, the Marketing Director of East Point Shopping and Entertainment City, and Nana Janashia, Executive Director of CENN, to find out more about the significance and need for such a memorandum in Georgia.
“We believe, with East Point’s initiative, a very important memorandum has been signed. We can all manage waste reasonably every day, and if we realize the importance of it, we’ll play a big role in the improvement of the world,” Teiko Lominadze says. “That is the exact goal of this memorandum: to popularize this issue.
In addition, East Point has long implemented many eco-friendly projects. For example, we established the first electric battery collection point in the country, where we collect batteries and then send them on for safe processing; at East Point, you can also separate waste, use a mobile charging station for electric cars, free of charge; and in June, we collaborated with plasticwatcher.ge and produced eco-friendly bags made from processed collected polyethylene bags and recycled commercial banners. We believe that our eco-friendly initiatives will inspire a lot of people and push them to care more for the environment.”
‘It’s important that both the private and the public sector see environmental solutions as part of their mission and core values. Without these initiatives and active steps forward from all sides we wouldn’t be able to achieve the necessary goals to save our planet. More importantly, consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and now they are being offered a choice that was not available to them before,’ Nana Janashia says.
GEORGIA TODAY in particular looks forward to hearing more from this fabulous four on what we, the general public and businesses, can do to better protect the beautiful Georgian nature.
By Katie Ruth Davies