We have been hearing expressions such as “Km 0 product”, “digitalisation” and “sustainability”, but what do they have to do with the Catalan economy? How can companies implement sustainable strategies to help consumers make better choices about the products they buy?

The Departament de Medi Ambient defines “km 0”, or “proximity” products, as those that have been produced less than 100 kilometres away, are seasonal, ecological (no chemicals or toxic products are used in their production) and protect the environment. As we have already experienced, the Covid-19 pandemic has helped to launch or accelerate different initiatives to help small local agri-food producers. The Generalitat has done so thanks to the Prodeca project, a website promoting Catalan food. 

However, local production is not the only way to help consumers. According to data from 2020, 35% of Catalan companies were digitally transformed during the pandemic. The main sectors that did so were services, commerce and industry. Digitisation has helped these companies to improve savings, efficiency and productivity.

However, the sustainable economy goes beyond consuming local products and digitising businesses. On the one hand, it helps to raise awareness, with social campaigns that challenge citizens, encouraging them to buy brands that respect the environment and to commit to recycling and to fair and second-hand trade. The sustainable economy is also driving changes in the household economy, such as household savings and reducing energy consumption. In fact, small individual changes often contribute much more than big changes.

Can a financial institution contribute to change?

This is how the sustainable economy is expanding in many different sectors, from wine to construction. The commitment generates business models that incorporate the circular economy, in order to reduce the waste of resources as much as possible. At 11Onze we also want to contribute to change. But how can a financial institution like ours do so? 

At 11Onze we want to promote a sustainable economy based on the real and specific needs of each person living in the community. That is why 11Onze can help create social sustainability. Many companies start from a sustainable economy without thinking about the customers, but it is important to incorporate the social side of the community to complete the concept of a sustainable economy.

Our customers are at the centre of the whole proposition and therefore what we offer them needs to help them financially, to make better choices, in short, to improve financially and economically. Thus, we aim to help our customers to make more sustainable choices and to show how the economy of abundance allows everyone to participate, based on responsibility. We do this with transparency and simplicity. In the end, sustainability must make sense from economic efficiency, from individual and collective responsibility and from the awareness that natural resources must be protected and valued.

All these actions, however small they may seem, have a big impact. In fact, we are increasingly aware of the importance of sharing. Sharing, renting, reusing, repairing and recycling extend the life cycle of products. Use rather than own is the maxim of all these movements and trends towards a more sustainable economy.

11Onze is becoming a phenomenon as the first Fintech community in Catalonia. Now, it releases the first version of El Canut, the super app of 11Onze, for Android and Apple. El Canut, the first universal account can be opened in Catalan territory.