Special meetings with VTIS members – our first virtual roundtable

VTIS – the Association of Slovenes Educated Abroad, is the leading organization for the circulation of knowledge between the world and Slovenia. It connects Slovenia to an international network of experts while connecting VTIS members to opportunities in Slovenia. Since 2018, we have been a proud Gold Partner of the Association, working with them in a number of areas. For the first time, we co-organized a virtual roundtable with speakers from London, Delft, and Ljubljana. VTIS is “scattered” across more than 50 countries around the world.

The first virtual roundtable on Thursday, 15 October, with our colleague Maša Švab, Head of Sustainable Development, focused on green transformation, the future of mobility, and renewable energy.

We discussed whether solar PV is emerging as one of the key technologies in the transformation of the energy system and whether it is one of the key solutions for reducing our carbon footprint and combatting climate change. We also touched on the sustainable future and what it means: Is it a shift from ownership to services? In this context, we also exchanged views on mobility: What does car ownership mean today – luxury, security? How has mobility changed in recent years and at what pace, how has COVID-19 driven the change in mobility, what are the scenarios for the future of mobility and what can each individual, company, and country do for sustainability?

Maša Švab, Head of Sustainability at GEN-I, pointed out that charging stations are the key to electric mobility and are gradually being installed in Europe. She added that GEN-I has approached the green transformation in a systematic way: First, we calculated the company’s carbon footprint, and based on that, we developed a mobility plan. Then, we looked at electrification. So far, we have electrified more than 70% of our fleet, making us the leader in Slovenia. At the same time, we set up a charging infrastructure. For business trips within the city, especially in Ljubljana or around our office buildings, we have set up e-bike stations where we charge micro-vehicles (e-bikes and e-scooters) with solar energy.

After the roundtable, Dr Igor Koprivnikar, a member of the GEN-I Management Board, who studied, obtained a doctorate, and worked in business abroad, presented the activities of the GEN-I Group. He answered one of the participants’ questions on how GEN-I intends to influence the Slovenian e-mobility infrastructure in the future: “First and foremost, by offering our end customers – both industrial and household – products and solutions that are interconnected. Our role will not be to build large charging stations on the grid itself, but rather devices that can be integrated by our end customers – households and industrial consumers.”

Thanks to all the participants for an excellent debate and to the other attendees for their participation and questions! Watch the video here.