Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate social responsibility and healthy business returns go hand in hand within Sligro Food Group. We firmly believe corporate social responsibility forms part of professional and sustainable entrepreneurship. This stems from our listed family business’ roots. It’s a simple fact that, as a family business, you want to treat your people and environment properly and decently, both now and with due consideration for the future. 

The implementation is looked after by a multidisciplinary CSR working group. A CSR policy has been drawn up, which includes clear details of what we stand for and how we want to take the next steps where sustainability is concerned.

Our CSR policy is based on three core themes which are of particular relevance to us, including our most important opportunities and challenges and for which our responsibility in the chain is greatest and self-evident: people, the environment and the range. Our 2030 goals have been set per core theme.

We have formulated both qualitative and quantitative ambitions per 'People', 'The Environment' and 'The Range’ core theme.

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These are based on the (United Nations’) SDGs, or rather the Sustainable Development Goals (van de Verenigde Naties) These are the sustainable development goals the world has set itself for 2030. The 17 main goals together form the most important international sustainability framework for the forthcoming years.

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What have we achieved in recent years?

People

  • Our employees: Free fruit, Performance appraisals and Training Plan, Welfare Survey, Fairtrade Day, Staff Party, Driver's Day, Home working policy, ...
  • Our customers: Market research, Informing through Magazines, Informing through Exhibitions, ...
  • Our supplier: new supplier handbook focusing on sustainability, fairs, ...
  • Our society: non-profit organisation For A Better Life, Weekly donations to food banks, Collaboration with Entiris (tailoring company), Collection of caps for blind guide dogs, Supporting initiatives such as CUBZZ, ...

 

The environment

  • ISO14001 environmental management certification for Rotselaar
  • Energy:
    • Consumption: Green power, Energy scan, Sustainable construction and renovation, ...
    • Transport: More efficient transport planning, Delivery windows customers as wide as possible & minimum drop value (limit delivery days), Alternative fuels (CNG - Electric), Lean and Green programme, development of a solar-electric road train that can be used for city distribution (it runs in the Netherlands) Eco drive course for drivers, Bicycle courier (Ghent-Antwerp), ...
    • Mobility: Mobility day, "Teams" meetings, Bicycle allowance, E-bike charging points, ...
  • Packaging:
    • Use of raw materials: digital whenever possible (e.g. invoices); ...
    • Printers: Recycled A4 paper / standard black/white + double-sided, Reusable drinking bottle for all staff, reduce packaging ism suppliers, ...
  • Waste: Waste sorting and recycling, no bottled water, ...

 

The range

  • Sustainable range: offering labels, local products, Attention to seasonal products, Tips for chefs in our magazine, Cooperation with asbl EVA (Proveg), ...
  • Health: Tips for chefs in our magazine, monthly healthy tip for employees on intranet, ...
  • Food waste: more efficient stock management, donations to food banks, for our customers: cooperation with non-profit organisation FoodWin, ...

What have we implemented recently (2021 and 2022):

  • People: drafted a formal sustainability policy; rolled out 'stakeholder watch' among employees, customers and suppliers; included staff in our sustainability story through articles in our Personnel magazine and monthly posts on the intranet; made employees do volunteer work; offered Fairtrade coffee and tea in our coffee corners; started traineeship, ...
  • The Environment: introduction of electric company cars and development of a bicycle leasing plan; installed charging stations for electric cars; organised litter day; added insulation, lowered temperatures, worked out future logistics landscape, ...
  • The Range: concept Eerlijk & Heerlijk (sustainable assortment) prepared; active participation in Green Deal: protein shift on our plates; participation in week of sustainable fish, ...

A selection of our plans for 2022

  • People: Rolling out the 'stakeholder watch' among employees, customers and suppliers; allowing employees to get involved with voluntary work; offering Fairtrade coffee in our coffee corners; ...
  • The Environment: Installing charging stations for electric vehicles; rolling out a bicycle lease plan; organising a litter picking day; ...
  • The Range: Launching the Fair & Delicious Concept (sustainable range); actively participating with Green Deal: the ‘protein shift’; ...

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VOKA Sustainable Business Charter

We took part in the VOKA Sustainable Business Charter for the first time in 2021 with Sligro Food Group Belgium, in order to further reinforce our own CSR commitment (more info: Voka Sustainable Business Charter | Voka). We have completed our 2021 action plan for the Voka Sustainable Business Charter and can now proudly call ourselves a VSBC laureate for the first time.

We’ll be able to obtain the United Nations’ Unitar certificate if we pass 3 x = 10 positively concluded approved campaigns (spread across the 17 SDGs) every year.

 

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