Confectionary manufacturer brings ESG strategy ambitions to life in Europe

The challenges

The client has long been committed to responsible business, reflected in a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy.

The ESG strategy has three top priorities:

Social sustainability

Emissions reduction

Reduced plastic packaging.

The client  turned to Haskoning for help in increasing awareness and action on its strategic ambitions across Europe, identifying potential energy reduction and decarbonisation measures for the Benelux facilities in order to reduce the scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions and developing a Social Strategy in The Netherlands.

The solutions

Strategic approach brings climate-neutral operations into view

“We helped to grow understanding about what was required,” explained Mirjam van der Velde, sustainability lead for industry at Haskoning. “ Workshops focusing on the social and environmental priorities clarified the strategy. It provided clear insight into responsibilities, and created the cooperation needed for efficient implementation.”

To comply with the new corporate governance code in the Netherlands, the client needed to focus on social sustainability as part of its long-term value creation. We identified the key elements that would form the social sustainability policy in the Netherlands, exploring impacts on the environment, people and society. This involved stakeholder mapping, benchmarking and adjusting the value chain to include areas where the client could enhance its social sustainability practices. Our expertise in guiding strategic thinking while identifying practical implementations added value to the process.

The results

Social sustainability strategy in the Netherlands provides blueprint for Europe

One of the outcomes was a social responsibility policy aligned with OECD guidelines which provides a blueprint for a European approach.
The resulting smart energy roadmap for CO2 reductions includes strategic and tactical recommendations, technical calculations, technological upgrades, process optimisations and monitoring. It embraces the organisation’s desire to switch to independent energy sources such as solar panels and biogas. These will protect the company from future energy price hikes and save costs in the long term.

“The client has clarified its ambitions and made significant progress on implementation plans,” said Mirjam. “Through our strategic collaboration demonstrates a deep commitment to creating a more sustainable and socially responsible future.”