As we retreat to the beach or countryside for a restful summer break, we are afforded an opportunity to reflect on life and the world we live in. Without distractions, many of us will have fresh realizations and a commitment to do things differently. Indeed, "rethink your options" is a truly life changing axiom. A new perception or insight can lead to a mindset which aims to gets things done in a better way. Industries have radically changed because people dared to rethink.
This is especially true in the case of sustainability, an idea that shifts the main growth potential from fossil fuels onto renewable energies. Now, as progressive companies reprioritize, sustainable businesses are growing rapidly, forming a new stewardship reality.
Today's global business community is increasingly steered by the international public debate on water use, human welfare, the treatment of animals, climate change, the low-carbon economy and the future of life on Earth.
In leading Arison Investments, I feel a profound responsibility to drive endeavors that make a positive impact on communities and their environment. We truly believe that profits can only be reaped alongside a sustainable footprint. To us, the bottom line also entails improved living standards.
Our approach to sustainability is rooted in a unique values model that professes goodness. Basic human values are integrated in our daily routine as a private investment house. In all our collaborative business relations worldwide, we first seek ethical standards and only then form a joint collaboration according to a unique economic game plan, which charts a course into a green future.
To create a world with a strong economy and equally strong moral values, we've taken upon ourselves to serve as a positive CR example in the business community. So, we began on the inside, across our own organization, with a wide implementation of our values model in-house. Each of our businesses realizes a specific value ingrained in the company vision.
Arison Investments holds the controlling stake at Bank Hapoalim, Israel's leading bank, which operates to attain the value of Financial Freedom for its customers worldwide. It has gained the highest +A level and grade 4 in external control audits, the Top the Platinum grading, and maximum 100 FTSE4GOOD index.
Arison Investments established Miya, our wholly-owned water company, to realize the value of abundance by maximizing existing quantities of fresh water. Miya's global operations have culminated in daily savings of over 500 million liters of fresh water, a significant reduction of CO2 emissions and high fiscal savings for urban water utilities. Additionally, millions of new homes are now able to tap into water distribution pipes for the first time.
Arison Investments' infrastructure and housing giant Shikun & Binui complies with SAM, Breeam and LEED standards. Arison Investments' Salt of the Earth, manufactures salt in natural evaporation pools that have become a breeding nest for flocks of migratory birds, thus demonstrating how values of sustainability can also be maintained through manufacturing processes.
In addition, we continuously encourage our employees to participate in workshops that promote ethical principles. We all volunteer on a regular basis and make it part of our routine to give back to society all year round. In doing so, we re-weave basic human values into the fabric of our business.
Further, in all our business relations worldwide, we first seek ethical standards and only then collaborate in accordance with a unique economic game plan which also charts a course into a greener future.
Guided by a long-term sustainable economic vision, I believe that we have a road map for a collaborative global effort. Science acumen, technological innovations, far-sighted moral economic strategies, and societal and cultural responsibility, have all blended together as we ask the big questions about the viability of our future on Earth. Because I believe new thought patterns allow leveraging on global challenges, lasting partnerships across different sectors is the key component towards a better future.