Sustainable social enterprise WAAK becomes carbon neutral

WAAK takes the lead in the domain of sustainability. We’re convinced that we can organize our economy in such a way that it becomes 100% sustainable. Based on that belief, we’re collaborating with the energy consultancy company E-Luse. They will help us to minimize our greenhouse gas emissions, and, consequently, our carbon footprint. Together we will map out and analyze our business processes, and we will elaborate a step-by-step plan to turn WAAK into a carbon neutral company.

Broader, social context

As a social company we mainly focus on the wellbeing of our employees – especially their mental and physical health plays an important role - and on equal opportunities. However, we are aware that our company is part of a broader, social context. This is why we are strongly committed to the challenges of our society, such as the environment, pollution, sustainability, and the transition to a circular economy. These challenges are also reflected in our company’s mission and vision.

A carbon neutral business

We do not only do this, because we believe in it, it is also imposed on us by the European Union. In 2019 all the members of the EU signed the ‘Green Deal’, in which they agree that by 2030 they will have reduced the net emission of greenhouse gases with at least 55% compared  to levels in 1990. As a major polluter, the industry will have to make strong efforts to become carbon neutral. However, at WAAK, we do not want to wait until 2030, we want to be carbon neutral already.

A systematic approach

Although we have already made several efforts in the past, like the installation of solar panels, recycling plastic, collecting and reusing rain water, etc., we now want to act in a systematic way. To do so, we are collaborating with the energy consultancy company E-Luse. Together, we will map out and analyze our CO2 emissions. Based on this analysis we will determine where we can make the greatest impact. Once this work’s done, we will elaborate a step-by-step plan to tackle or compensate the sources of pollution. In the analysis phase, the entire business process – from the purchase of raw materials to the delivery of the (semi)finished product to the customer – is examined: are the raw materials we use of recycled origin? Is the electricity we use green? Can our transports be organised in a more efficient way? Only in the final stage of the project we will look at what we will do, and how we will realize it. 

Sustainability: investing in the future

Thanks to this systematic approach, we ensure that we handle the process efficiently, and that ‘hidden’ polluters are not accidently forgotten. Becoming carbon neutral is a very important and major step in the realization of the mission and vision of our company. We believe that, in the near future, if a company can choose between collaborating with a sustainable company or a company that doesn’t take this matter seriously, they will choose the first one. Investing in sustainability, means investing in the future.