The team at Keter Group has been making sustainable and environmentally friendly decisions for much of its nearly century-long existence. Founded in Israel, Keter Group operates 29 regional factories, spreading into Europe and North America.
Led by the work of CEO Alejandro Pena, Keter Group has focused on pushing sustainability toward the forefront of conversations within his industry. Pena was brought in as the CEO of the company in 2017, and he has spent much of his time gearing up the company’s environmental focus.
The ESG Work of Alejandro Pena
Alejandro Pena and Keter have made waves in the industry thanks to their focus on the importance of social, environmental, and communal governance. As organizations focus on these concerns, they can learn how Pena and his team tackled them.
Pena said he was brought aboard when he knew the company was looking for its more significant purpose. Pena said, “One of our responsibilities is not just to our shareholders, but to the communities that we are in and to the environment and world that we live in.”
Pena believes that Keter is leading the industry forward by focusing on publicizing its efforts through an annual ESG report.
Ultimately, Pena wants the team at Keter to be driven as much by innovation as it is by living through the values they continue to emphasize. Pena says, “Not only because it is the right thing to do, but because I also believe that it will be a source of competitive advantage over the long term.”
Changing Cultures Shift Social Attitudes
Driven as much by his personal feelings regarding sustainability as the changing of the time, Pena understands that the world has shifted significantly.
Pena points to a report published under a decade ago, which showed that nearly 34% of Generation X adherents were interested in paying more for more sustainable services. Just last year, that number was up to 90% – a dramatic year-over-year increase compared to the initial 34% figure.
Pena states, “I think the impact has been positive internally and externally.”
The CEO of Keter Group pointed to the impact of removing carbon from its manufacturing processes as a critical win for the company. Pena added, “Last year, we made significant progress in taking carbon out of our manufacturing process by maintaining our use of recycled resin and driving efficiencies throughout our operations.”
Keter has also made a directed effort to introduce manufacturing facilities in the areas where products will ultimately end up, thus reducing its overall carbon footprint.
