Corporate Social Responsibility and Involvement
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When it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) an exception level of responsibility is demanded of a market leader. A demand Van der Windt is happy to accept and meet. Our CRS activities are wide ranging and are based on three core ‘P’s: People, Planet and Profit. Within these three spheres of activity we follow the guidelines described below. ‘People’ We want to be a good employer, which means operating in accordance with standards and values and having a policy of ‘zero-tolerance’ to corruption, discrimination, intimidation, violence and sexism.The creation of good working conditions is the top priority of our personnel policy.We promote equal opportunities and respect the privacy and rights of every individual.We offer an honest reward and guarantee the minimum wage. We accept responsibility for the health and safety of our employees and take every possible precaution to prevent accidents and job-related illness. We also work pro-actively with the Dukdalf Sheltered Workshop in Maassluis and with a number of training establishment and educational institutes in the field of work experience places, secondment, information and exchange of knowledge. Van der Windt is an approved work experience place provider. We sponsor a number of social, cultural and sporting activities, donating to charitable projects for many years and until 2005 we supported ‘Cordaid People in Need’. In 2006 we started sponsorship activities to enable us to adopt the living room in the Ronald McDonald House Sophia in Rotterdam and the building was opened in 2009. It goes without saying that we also care about the welfare of our suppliers’ employees. To this end we operate in accordance with strict regulations based on the SA 8000 standard, which relates to child labour, forced labour, health & safety, freedom from (trade) unions, discrimination, disciplinary measures, salaries and management systems. Compliance with this SA 8000 standard is a component of our procurement strategy and is actively monitored during visits to suppliers.‘Planet’ Ensuring a clean living environment, the efficient use of raw materials and the minimising of harmful gas and particle emissions are the core concerns when it comes to ‘Planet’. Efficient heating of areas, separated waste collection, green electricity and energy-saving lighting are concrete examples of this. Our lorries are fitted with soot filters and, thanks to advanced route optimisation and an extremely high utilisation of loading capacity, we are able to deliver our products to our customers with a minimum pressure on the environment. Although packaging sometimes has a negative image it can contribute towards reducing pressure on the environment. Plastic films, for example, can extend the shelf-life of products, which means far less food is thrown away. Properly evaluating packaging’s effect on the climate means not only taking the manufacturing and waste phases into consideration but also the usage phase. In many instances we can offer our customers materials-saving alternatives or packaging that can be reused many times. This also contributes towards a responsible use of raw materials. We are constantly on the look out for products and concepts that are more environmentally friendly. In fact, Van der Windt’s active involvement in the development and promotion of packaging made from renewable raw materials led to its being nominated for the 2009 NRK ‘PRIMA Ondernemen’ (Operating EXCELLENCE) prize for CSR. We supply a wide range of bio-based packaging. Litter is one of the today’s greatest nuisances. Our everyday surroundings must become visibly and measurably cleaner. This is why Van der Windt endorses the 'Impulsprogramma Zwerfafval' set-up by the Nederlandse Gemeenten (VNG) (Dutch Municipalities) Association, members of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry & Employers, and the Ministry for Housing, Regional Development and the Environment. 'Impulsprogramma Zwerfafval' is an integral programme within which the business world and the government are working together to combat litter. Together with the Nederland Schoon (Clean Netherlands) foundation we are working for a cleaner Netherlands. Van der Windt is currently drawing up a plan for reducing CO2 the details of which will be announced as soon as this long-term plan has been finalised. ‘Profit’ Achieving a healthy profit is vital for the continuity of our company and provides a firm foundation for our CSR policy, so it goes without saying that Van der Windt has set itself a profit target. There is, however, no reason why achieving our objectives in the fields of ‘people’ and ‘planet’ should conflict with the achievement of our profit target. Our striving to be a good employer stimulates staff loyalty and our selection of respected suppliers is the best guarantee of the good quality of our products. Offering sustainable packaging solutions, for example by improving the protection from deterioration or by reducing the amount of materials used, can also be advantageous from a business economics perspective both for us and our customers. Using less energy and an economical use of raw materials can also result in cost savings. 'A business that makes nothing but money is poor business' (Henry Ford) |
