An important aspect of corporate social responsibility is taking into account the interests of others, of course without losing perspective of your own interests. In the following example the Province of South Holland provides an interpretation of this concept by striving as far as possible to meet the needs of businesses and citizens.  Read more…

For several years, H&M has been pursuing a pro-active approach to improve its environmental and social performance along its supply chain. Among other initiatives, H&M decided to cooperate with its suppliers and their suppliers to help them improve their environmental performance. To achieve its goal, H&M has asked BECO to develop a tool to introduce and promote Cleaner Production among the wet processing mills (dyeing and printing) in India and China.   Read more…

Sustainable consumption is not about consuming less, but consuming differently and efficiently, while creating an improved quality of life for all involved. This means, as a consumer you pay attention to how the product has reached the shelves. For example, you can avoid purchasing clothing that has been produced by child labour, or jewellery that is made out of corral. You may prefer locally-produced or of the season foodstuff as much as possible. For products such as bananas and coffee, eco-labelled products can be preferred, where the label assures that the farmers receive fair payments for their products. You can also pay attention to the quantity of packaging waste, the energy use of an electronic device or equipment, the transport means, etc.    Read more…

Tourism Flanders is an agency of the Flemish government responsible for promoting Flanders and supporting quality control. The agency wants to make Flanders a sustainable tourist destination. For this purpose it needs to carry out a qualitative sustainable tourist policy. This can only occur if sustainability is integrated into all the departments of Tourism Flanders and if Tourism Flanders as a whole operates along sustainable lines. That is why in 2004, the organisation decided to examine whether sustainability was integrated and anchored in all the activities of the agency. BECO implemented this survey using the Strategic Sustainability Scan. The responsible persons in the various departments were interviewed. In addition 8 external stakeholder and 28 employees were asked what role Tourism Flanders should fulfil in the area of sustainability, how they presently assess the performance of Tourism Flanders in a number of aspects of sustainability, and how much importance do they attach to each of these aspects.    Read more…

ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs around 103,000 people. ABB is heading an initiative to bring affordable electricity to rural areas of Africa and Asia to boost sustainable development and improve living standards. The focus is on the productive use of affordable electricity and promotion of local economic growth.  Read more…

Alcan is the world’s second largest producer of primary aluminium. The company has its head office in Montreal Canada, employing about 70,000 people in 55 countries with pro forma 2003 revenues of US$25.7 billion. Alcan has established itself as the sustainability leader in the aluminium industry. Many of Alcan's community efforts focus on encouraging aluminium beverage can recycling as a means of generating revenue for charitable organizations.   Read more…

The vision of the home furnishing shop IKEA is that good working conditions are vital for more efficient production and better productivity. This is why IKEA products can be sold for lower prices. Furthermore the home furnishing shop has an active environmental policy. IKEA considers the reduction of environmental impacts from transport a major challenge. In 2000 IKEA established the Code of Conduct for child labour. At the end of 1998 IKEA was discredited because there was talk of child labour and dangerous working conditions at it suppliers.  Read more…

BASF is one of the world leaders in the chemical industry. Its product line comprises high-value-added chemicals, plastics, colorants and pigments, dispersions, automotive and industrial coatings, crop-protection agents, fine chemicals, oil and gas. In 2004 BASF had about 82,000 employees worldwide and its sales reached €37.5 billion. Responsibilities towards the environment and towards society are key elements of BASF's corporate philosophy.  Read more…

DAF Trucks N.V. has already accumulated a great deal of experience over a number of years in making eco-procurement. In 2003 in cooperation with SenterNovem the company developed an interactive Environmentally-preferable Purchasing Tool that enables it to better assess the environment-related performance of suppliers. The Environmentally-preferable Purchasing Tool enables buyers to see the performance history of the various suppliers at a glance and to compare suppliers with each other. For the suppliers this is a chance to improve their performance with regard to environmental issues.   Read more…

Peeze Koffie started in 1879 in Hengelo, the Netherlands as a family business in groceries and coffee roasting. Peeze strives towards excellence in quality both in its service and its coffee. Peeze provides customers with a total concept, which means they deal which the top brands in coffee machines, all the frills of coffee drinking culture, expert advice, good service and even courses. Peeze is often mentioned as an example of a sustainable SME business.  Read more…

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest electronics companies, with 159,709 employees in over 60 countries and sales in 2004 of EUR 30.3 billion. In 2004 and 2005 it have been selected as the top company by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World in corporate sustainability in the Cyclical Goods & Services market sector.Philips encourages active cooperation and initiatives from its supply base. The objective is to have a consistent approach throughout the supply chain to promote a high level of sustainability. To manage this complex issue in 2003 Philips has introduced a comprehensive program with tools and feedback mechanisms for its supply base called the 'Supplier Sustainability Management Program'.   Read more…

Triodos Bank N.V. has adopted a goal for itself: to become a pioneer in sustainable banking. Triodos Bank is active mainly in the institutional and private markets in which customers want their savings to be linked to both financial benefits and social causes. Triodos Bank puts the Triple Bottom Line (People, Planet & Profit) concept into practice in its own way. Assessing a credit request at Triodos Bank starts with examining the added value that a company can give to people and the environment. (People & Planet). Only then will the bank assess if the enterprise also has a healthy financial and economic base. Profit is not the foremost consideration.  Read more…

By being a responsible company C&A would like to acquire and retain the trust of individuals interested in the company. For C&A, responsible business applies to the entire supply chain: from the production of clothing to the sales to the customer. As early as 1996 C&A formulated its basic ethical and environmental principles in its Code of Conduct. Since then the “Code of Conduct for the Supply of Merchandise“ is a fixed component of the general supply conditions of C&A.   Read more…