City and Green, Friday 5 January 2024
Many entrepreneurs in the green sector do shout that they are socially responsible businesses, but do not act accordingly in practice. This is the perception of Jaap Peelen, managing director at De Eijk Groep. Together with Karlijn Schaap, project manager Groen Als Een Service (GAES), he is implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within his organisation. They call on other companies to follow suit. ‘The way we are all doing business now is not sustainable.’
Author: Ralf Pijnenburg
An end to poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change. That is the core of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2015-2030. They are designed to build a greener, fairer, better world. The SDGs touch many policy goals of the Dutch government. De Eijk Groep was inspired by the municipality of Apeldoorn to make a positive impact on society with these goals. Apeldoorn recently held a pilot to measure the impact of 12 local companies, including De Eijk Groep. ‘This impact programme was really an eye-opener for us,’ says Peelen. ‘Precisely by engaging in a low-threshold discussion with companies, you arrive at new insights through knowledge sharing. Together we can respond to themes better than individually.’
Inventory
Jaap Peelen and Karlijn Schaap, together with Marian Heezen, sustainable development adviser at SDG House Stedendriehoek, took stock of which of the total of 17 goals De Eijk Groep scored well and less well on. Since last year, SDG House Stedendriehoek has been motivating as many organisations as possible in the Apeldoorn-Zutphen-Deventer region to get to work on the SDGs. ‘The 17 goals are all related to the values “social”, “ecological” and “economic”,’ Heezen explains. ‘The strength of the compass therefore lies in its integral nature. By creating as much awareness among companies as possible, we increase the impact. If we all take more responsibility, it creates a snowball effect and together we improve our own living environment. The SDGs are a great compass to make this happen. This realisation is growing. More and more municipalities are conforming to the SDGs.’
‘We don’t just say we do social and sustainable business; we put our money where our mouth is.’