Belcinto was the big national winner in the sustainability area in the first edition of the competition promoted by the assurance firms Tranquilidade and Grupo Generali, in partnership with the Portuguese Correio da Manhã newspaper and the SÁBADO magazine. The aim of this initiative is to distinguish and give a voice to the most sustainable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal, recognizing their merit and best practices.

"We want to encourage sustainable business models and give visibility to SMEs that develop good sustainability practices. We will create a space for inspiration, sharing ideas and public debate", reads the website of the competition. Two honourable mentions were also ascribed to the private capital Promecel, whose markets are dived by the electrical sector and the mechanical components sector, and ALGAPlus, which sustainably farms seaweed species from the Atlantic coast.

Sustainability is indeed a requirement for Belcinto, which became the first one in the sector to obtain an environmental certification, making a rigorous measurement of the environmental footprint and emissions generated. The reduction of energy and water consumption, as well as waste, are Belcinto's main focus, and, this year, the company even managed to reduce energy consumption by 40% and changed the production process by investing in the substitution of materials for more ecological ones.

The company also launched the Leather Goods by Belcinto, which produces "only from the leftovers raw materials from other collections by reusing them and fully incorporating them, without generating new ones in the process", revealed Belcinto's manager Ana Maria Vasconcelos.

About Belcinto

Founded in 1961 as a small production of leather goods directed to the national market, Belcinto grew up into a company with a unique legacy of craftsmanship, which exports almost its entire production, especially to European and Japanese markets. Its strategy focuses on the quality of products, sustainable practices, and the people, with inclusion and social responsibility policies at its core.

For more information about the company and the Leather Goods by Belcinto, please refer to the following website.