Transcom Chats about Olivami - with Gianluca Gemma

Introduction.

‘Transcom Chats’ is a series of interviews with Transcom staff on things and topics we’re passionate about. The aim is to bring forward, talk to, and highlight the people that make Transcom the brand you know and love.

Continuing our topic of sustainability, we’re taking an in-depth look at specific ways Transcom is helping give back to the environment. To talk a little bit about what we do in Italy we are joined by our Italy Cluster General Manager Gianluca Gemma

Interview.

• Tell us a little bit about yourself and what your role is.

I've been covering the position of Italy Cluster General Manager since 2018 but I joined the company in 2012 as Head of Group Finance in Luxembourg. Prior to joining Transcom I gained experience in several industries such as Insurance, Fashion, Telco and Energy with executive roles in the finance department in leading global players such as Prada, H3G, Falck Renewables.

In my current role, I have the responsibility to guide the 5 countries belonging to the Cluster - Italy, Albania, Istria, Hungary and Tunisia  - that means around 6000 people.

• The olive is synonymous with the Mediterranean. What does the olive represent for Italians specifically?

The European Union is the first producer of olive oil worldwide (69% of world production), with Italy representing the second country in the EU by extra-virgin olive oil (EVO oil) quantity manufacturing, and accounting for about 21% of global EVO Oil production. Already defined by Homer as “liquid gold” in the Odyssey, olive oil is one of the most popular products on the world food scene and we are very proud of Italian quality olive oil culture. Moreover, I was born and raised in Apulia where oil production is an integral part of the local culture.

• Transcom has donated to Olivami. What does Olivami do?

Olivami is an NGO based in the Apulia region, in the South of Italy. The first aim of the association is to promote the adoption of olive trees as a response to the devastation brought by Xylella, a serious disease that destroyed over 21 million olive trees in the region, thus canceling years and years of sacrifices of thousands of farmers. Olivami promotes a new form of sustainable and participatory olive growing, which allows anyone to remotely adopt one or more olive trees, supporting the reforestation of the territory and obtaining an annual supply of EVO oil with certified origin and quality.

• What made you interested in Olivami?

Transcom has a long history in that region. Lecce in fact represents one of the earliest and most important sites in the country, with more than 1000 employees. Investing in the territory where we are present means to give back to that community, and have a positive environmental and social impact.

• What are the benefits of donating to Olivami?

We created a “Transcom Garden”. This means that we adopted 100 new olive trees and we supported 2 farmers. This allowed it to absorb 60.000 KG of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Investing in Olivami means making a clear business decision: supporting the landscape and social development. By planting olive trees we are contributing to the transformation of CO2 emissions into oxygen, avoiding climate change, improving the health of living beings and their well-being, and putting the environment first.

• What do we do with the oil?

We will receive our first EVO oil production in Autumn and we would like to donate this precious oil to all our employees as a concrete sign and evidence of their importance. Our promise to our brilliant team is in fact to be relentlessly committed to their ambition. We’re also committed to driving a sustainable agenda and creating positive, lasting change for the planet, its people, and the communities where we operate.

• Why is this initiative important to Transcom?

We’re building up a new journey towards sustainability. We are looking to reduce and mitigate our negative environmental impact through the way we think, act, and procure. 

Each hectare of olive trees removes 9.5 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. That is about 730 Kg of CO2 per year for each olive tree. With this “Transcom Garden'' we can directly and concretely move towards this ambitious but fundamental target for our planet and our lives.

• Any parting words?

Thanks for the chance to tell more about this amazing project. Hope to see you all in our Transcom Garden in Apulia!