Personio

Way back in 2019, Personios carried a banner proclaiming “There Is No Planet B!” at the Munich Climate Strike march.  Organized by our employee-driven Sustainability Committee, attending this march was just one way we supported our value of #SocialResponsibility. Since then, this Employee Resource Group has expanded in size and impact. Today, with almost 300 members in its Slack channel, the Sustainability Committee works toward a dedicated mission: to enable greener organizations, brands, and products. 

Here’s a short look at some of the major initiatives our committee has been working on to support environmental and social causes:

1. Personio’s 1% Commitment & Personio Foundation

Personio’s commitment to social good comes straight from our co-founders, starting with their pledge to put 1% of Personio’s equity towards charitable causes. In 2021 we launched Personio Foundation, which uses that 1% – now worth $85 million – to support organizations in the fields of education and climate change. The Foundation offers long-term support and unrestricted grants.

2. Personio Kitchen & Bar

According to the research on the environmental impact of food production, plant-based products produce much fewer greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram and are more beneficial for human health. Therefore, to serve our employees and the community healthy food with regional ingredients in a sustainable environment, we opened Personio Kitchen & Bar in 2021. Our menu only contains vegetarian and vegan dishes that are prepared fresh daily, with locally sourced ingredients. To be even more environmentally friendly, we also suggest cashless payment and encourage reusable to-go containers.  

3. Our Carbon Footprint

Planetly helps companies measure their CO2 emissions and identify levers to reduce and offset those emissions over time. After partnering with Planetly to get a full analysis of Personio’s carbon emissions, we addressed the main drivers of our footprint by implementing more sustainable solutions wherever possible. For example, we increased the energy efficiency of our office spaces and implemented new travel guidelines, encouraging our employees to travel in a more sustainable way.

Personio also compensates for unavoidable emissions, like using electricity, sending emails, and traveling by plane when trains or other methods aren’t possible. For example, this year we partnered with Small-Scale Hydro and Wind Energy projects in Turkey. Thanks to these partnerships and our reduction efforts, Personio is now is one of the first carbon-neutral unicorns in Europe. 

4. Personio Green with Planetly

Seeing the success of our partnership, we also integrated Planetly into our product system. Together, we can now make a positive impact by helping other organizations make progress towards their emission reduction goals. And, to encourage and empower our customers to use this integration, we provide a discount to organizations that work with Planetly. 

Click here to see more about Our Commitment to Sustainability and Social Responsibility @ Personio

5. Green Mobility

To minimize our corporate carbon footprint, we continuously incentivize our employees to choose the most climate-friendly commuting options. Therefore, we offer each employee a monthly subsidy of where they can choose between public transport, e-scooters, or personal bicycles.

6. Annual Impact Days

In addition to annual all-Personio Impact Days, each employee has the opportunity to use an additional paid day to support a charity of their choice. Our employees have the freedom to choose their cause either from a list of recommended organizations provided by Personio or any other project that speaks to them personally. So far this year, 243 employees have volunteered in support of their chosen cause.

Personios planting trees during an impact day

We are on a continuous journey at Personio towards becoming a greener organization, brand, and product. We are proud of everyone’s efforts on this mission and excited to see the ways our Personios and Sustainability Committee implement even more positive change in the future!