One Step at a Time: How AZORES X Is Living Sustainability in the Azores
Some things aren’t strategic. They’re simply how we live.
At AZORES X, sustainability isn’t a promise for the future. It’s something we work on, adjust, and live by, every single day.
That daily practice led to something we’re truly proud of: one of the Azores Regional Sustainability Awards, in the Governance category, for our long-term initiative Sustainability from A to Z.
It’s not a milestone, it’s a marker. One that tells us: keep going.
Why This Recognition Matters
The award is part of the Cartilha de Sustentabilidade dos Açores, run by Açores DMO. It brings together people and organisations working toward a stronger, fairer future, not in theory, but through measurable, real-world action across the islands.
Each year, this programme gives visibility to people and organisations who step forward with clarity, earn trust by working together, and keep showing up for the long haul.
For us, being included in that circle isn’t about praise. It’s a reminder that real progress depends on shared momentum, on the relationships that keep ideas alive and moving.
From Intention to Action
We named our initiative Sustainability from A to Z because it shows up in every choice we make.
It’s not a one-off programme or department, it’s how the entire system runs.
eMove: Moving Cleaner
One of the first areas we rethought was transport. We didn’t wait for infrastructure to change, we led with what we could.
eMove, our 100% electric rent-a-car service, gives visitors a quieter and lower-emission way to explore the Azores. It’s modest in size, but meaningful in what it represents: a shift in how we think about moving around these islands.
eCasa: Small Adjustments, Real-Life Impact
With eCasa, we focused on daily essentials, things like cleaning supplies, construction materials, and the little decisions that shape how we live.
We’re not chasing perfection. We’re helping people and businesses make choices that are smarter, cleaner, and easier to fit into real routines.
Solar Where It Matters
In our Experiences ΛZ branch, we’ve equipped our accommodations with solar systems.
Each watt we generate is one we don’t pull from the grid. It’s a practical step toward energy independence, and a chance to let our guests experience low-impact living without sacrificing comfort.
Trabalho Feliz (Happy Works): Culture Comes First
An exhausted team isn’t sustainable, no matter how green the policies.
That’s why we built Trabalho Feliz, our programme focused on mental wellbeing, clarity of purpose, and building a workplace that motivates, rather than drains.
Not because it looks good in reports. But because sustainable systems need sustainable people.
Digital Shift, Human Results
This wasn’t just about going paperless. It was about reimagining how we work.
We reduced waste, removed redundant systems, and made daily operations smoother, for us and for others. We’ve even helped neighbouring teams apply the same shifts.
Digital, for us, is now one of the sharpest tools we have to reduce friction and maximise impact.
It Was Never Just About Us
Real transformation doesn’t happen in silos.
What’s worked best has come through partnerships, with local institutions, regional businesses, and the communities we’re part of.
That’s how clean mobility took off. That’s how ideas were tested, improved, and passed on. That’s how impact spreads.
What This Award Really Means
It doesn’t mean we’re finished.
It means we’ve built something with roots, and it’s beginning to grow beyond us.
We’re thankful. Not just for the honour, but for the reminder that sustainability isn’t about arriving. It’s about choosing again, every day, to walk forward.
And when you keep doing that, step by step, people start to feel the difference.
The path ahead is open. We’re already walking it.