No Elevators Day is expanding its horizons further. This year, the initiative reached the Republic of Moldova for the first time with Premier Energy Moldova, the largest provider of electric energy in the country, joining ISCA’s #UseTheStairs movement by organising various promotional activities at their headquarters to encourage employees to choose the stairs instead of the elevators in the building.

The company’s central office is located in Chisinau and features 9 floors and several elevators that are used daily by around 400 employees of Premier Energy Moldova and the Chisinau Premier Energy distribution centre. On the occasion of No Elevators Day, the lifts in the building came to a halt, and activities explaining the initiative were organised.

By taking an important step towards establishing healthier habits, the staff not only got a dose of physical activity on the day but also had a lot of fun exploring the attractive messages on each floor. Who can resist climbing when using the stairs promises to reduce cholesterol levels, increase the production of endorphins, tone leg muscles, or "give you wings until the evening sings"? :) To further boost motivation levels, everyone also received healthy "treats" such as fresh fruit.

Physical activity is an important component of workplace standards at Premier Energy Moldova. The enterprise has introduced a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy and committed to carrying out its activities, considering that nothing is more important than the safety, health, and wellbeing of individuals. Thus, continuous improvement of working conditions is promoted with the aim of avoiding and preventing accidents and health issues. Employees are encouraged not only to adhere to the current principles of action and procedures regarding workplace safety and health but also to engage in various routine activities that provide them with enough movement and, therefore, a healthier lifestyle.

Following these principles, since 2012 Premier Energy Moldova has organised the Workplace Safety and Health Week on the occasion of the UN’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work, marked on 28 April. This year, No Elevators Day became part of this action.

"Movement and sport are very important for everyone. It is known that people who engage in regular physical activity have a higher quality of life. Alongside proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity helps combat various conditions. We at Premier Energy Moldova are committed to the safety, health, and wellbeing of our teams, and No Elevators Day fits perfectly into the list of solutions for these priorities,” says Veronica Moraru, Manager of Communication and External Relations at Premier Energy Moldova.

"We shouldn’t wait for special occasions to engage in sport and physical activity. We can incorporate healthier habits into our daily routines. In previous editions of the Workplace Safety and Health Week, we always encouraged our workers to #UseTheStairs and called this initiative “Pathway to Health” (Cărărușa sănătății). But since this year, we decided to affiliate with the global No Elevators Day campaign because we like the idea and because this way we will be part of a larger international community,” she adds.

Watch a video from the No Elevators Day at Premier Energy Moldova here.

More tips on how to integrate physical activity into the workplace’s routine can be found in ISCA’s “Physical Activity for Mental Wellbeing toolkit”.