CREC Coworking bets for being a sustainable coworking space

Have you ever considered the amount of waste you generate at home, at work, doing sports, in restaurants, traveling, etc.? In short, in your day to day? All our actions influence our immediate surroundings, both environmentally and economically and socially. And we want to make our mark by being a sustainable coworking.

Deciding to buy one thing or another, going to one store and not another, moving with a certain type of transport… Everything we do generates a positive or negative impact, even if we are not yet aware of it. As coworking, we think that we must make all possible tools available to the community so that their professional activity is sustainable. And not only that, but together we have to add value to our environment.

What makes us a sustainable coworking?

1. We are one of the first coworkings adhered to the Citizen Commitment to Sustainability

Last March 2020, at the most critical moment of confinement, we were able to communicate one of the best possible news: We became one of the first coworkings adhered to the Barcelona Citizen Commitment to Sustainability.

Thus, we work to make Barcelona a better city and align ourselves with the objectives of the manifesto:

• Favor biodiversity.
• Improve sustainable mobility.
• Excel environmental quality.
• Contribute to a smart city.
• Make a rational use of resources.
• Work with good government.
• Watch over the welfare of people.
• Make the economy sustainable, educate.
• Raise public awareness and have planetary responsibility.

2. We use Tapp Water filters in our 3 coworking spaces

Contar con TAPP Water como coworkers de nuestra comunidad es genial, pero poder trabajar conjuntamente para mejorar nuestro planeta… ¡Es aún mejor! Por eso, todo el que venga a CREC Poble Sec, CREC Eixample y CREC Sabadell encontrará siempre sus filtros de agua en los grifos.

Gracias a su trabajo, TAPP Water ha conseguido el consumo de más de 40 millones de botellas de plástico, ha evitado más de 1,3 toneladas de residuos plásticos, ha ahorrado más de 121 millones de litros de agua dulce y ha evitado la emisión de más de 10 toneladas de CO2. ¡Todos queremos ser TAPP Heroes!

Having TAPP Water as coworkers in our community is great, but being able to work together to improve our planet… It’s even better! For this reason, everyone who comes to CREC Poble Sec, CREC Eixample and CREC Sabadell will always find their water filters at the taps.

Thanks to its work, TAPP Water has achieved the consumption of more than 40 million plastic bottles, has avoided more than 1.3 tons of plastic waste, has saved more than 121 million liters of fresh water and has avoided the emission of more than 10 tons of CO2. We all want to be TAPP Heroes!

3. We have Ladosi coffee machines with bio capsules

Coffee is a key aspect in a coworking. What’s more, we dare to say that for some coworkers it is an indispensable condition to make coworking their workspace. For more than a year, at CREC Coworking we have partnered with Ladosi, a biodegradable capsule coffee maker that works 100% with an app.

In addition, we have an Italian coffee maker that, apart from being the favourite of the most classic coworkers, reduces the generation of waste to the maximum!

4. We are a To Good To Go picking point

Los usuarios de la aplicación Too Good To Go saben que pueden venir a CREC Poble Sec a recoger sus productos. Y es que somos una de las ubicaciones de la ciudad donde velamos por no desperdiciar comida. De hecho, a día de hoy, ya hemos conseguido salvar más de 50 comidas, hecho que equivale a 125 CO2e. ¡Y estamos trabajando para disponer de puntos de recogida tanto en Eixample cómo en Sabadell!

5. We boost sustainable mobility

Mobility is an aspect of our day to day with great relevance in our ecological footprint. For this reason, all our coworkings are located 5 minutes walk from metro, train and bus stations and all three have a parking space for bicycles and electric scooters.

In the last year, urban mobility has undergone a series of changes and more and more coworkers choose to walk, come with their own bicycle or with Bicing to CREC. In the post-pandemic scenario, coworking has emerged as a proximity solution for professionals and companies that work remotely. This proximity eliminates or reduces journeys and, therefore, CO2 emissions.

6. We have recycling spots in every lunch area

From the day we opened the doors of CREC Poble Sec, 8 years ago, in all our spaces we have set up recycling points for glass, plastic and paper. In addition, items such as batteries or coffee capsules are stored and transported to the green point on the corresponding days in each neighborhood.

Apart from facilitating recycling, we are also looking for partners who bet on compostable packaging or who accept reusable containers, such as the Bow restaurant, next to CREC Eixample, where coworkers enjoy a 10% discount.

7. We are the creators of Sinèrgics y la Clota CoTreball

For us, being a sustainable coworking also means looking to make a positive impact on the people around us, whether they are CREC Coworking coworkers or not. For this reason, in 2017 we thought that coworking should go one step further: In collaboration with the Barcelona City Council, we promoted Sinèrgics, the world’s first social return coworking.

What does “social return coworking” mean? Well, it is a coworking space in which coworkers do not pay with money, but with Flocs. This virtual currency is equivalent to a series of working hours for the neighborhood where the coworking is located.

In the case of Sinèrgics, coworkers pay their quota by offering their talent to businesses and associations in the Baró de Viver neighborhood, in the Sant Martí district. Thus, for example, a graphic designer can design the posters for the neighborhood house or an architect can help to reform a neighborhood space.

Since 2018, La Clota Cotreball, in the Horta district, has followed in the wake of Sinèrgics to generate a social return in the La Clota neighborhood. We understand coworking as an element that not only energizes the economy of the neighborhood where it is located, but also provides added value on a social level and reinforces the associative life.

8. Can you help us to continue improving our sustainable coworking?

Being a sustainable coworking is a non-negotiable part of our philosophy, but that does not mean that we have no way to go. For this reason, we encourage you to send us your ideas to continue improving our environment and build together the coworking that represents us the most!