SDG #15: Life on land
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals incite governments, companies and organisations to protect life on land, and to restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. Our main contribution in this regard comes from the people in our Groundskeeping Service. They are responsible for the green and garden maintenance of our own company and our partners' companies.
Groundskeeping service WAAK = green experts
The expertise of our Groundskeeping Service goes beyond mowing lawns, pruning and trimming hedges. They work in small groups of 5-6 individuals, who are coached and trained by a phyto-licenced green professional. This means he or she has received the necessary training and knows how to handle crop protection products correctly. That is also why our people have extensive knowledge of creating (wild) flower meadows, ecological mowing, installing sustainable fences (custom-made willow fences), etc.
Realised through sustainable means
The tools and means we use to achieve these results adhere to the same principles. We place maximum focus on the electrification of our equipment (diesel equipment is systematically being replaced with electrical equipment), we use biopesticides whenever possible, our green waste is processed into biomass, which is subsequently reused as fuel, cattle feed... We attach great importance to sustainable nature management. This dovetails with our company’s vision and mission where we not only aim to create sustainable employment but also want to provide social added value.
Stad Kortrijk: a shared vision
We like to work with partners who share our vision. In the summer the green spaces and sports fields of the city of Kortrijk are maintained by some 70 full-time workers. They are responsible for manual weed control, trimming hedges and mowing lawns. The latter is done in a very special way. Only mowing specific sections of an expanse of grass and using little or no pesticides stimulates biodiversity.
TVH Park: a green gem
We also have a partnership with international spare parts specialist TVH. For their staff we created a green recreation area of no less than 16,000 m² next to their headquarters in Waregem. Our Groundskeeping Service staff were responsible for the layout of water-permeable paths and a picnic area, a woodchip trail, willow fences and the planting of greenery. The icing on the cake is without doubt TVH’s 11m² insect hotel, making it the largest of its kind in all of Flanders.
WAAK: resourceful greening
Our Groundskeeping Service staff not only work for other companies. They also work at our own branches. WAAK is located in Kuurne’s industrial estate. As the amount of free space there is limited, we have fewer options than some of our customers. However, if we want to continue to green our company we need to be resourceful and creative. At the moment we are concentrating our efforts on softening our company grounds and creating additional green spaces for our workforce. Concrete fencing is being replaced with new, sustainable willow fences and we are also considering the installation of green roofs, which we are already testing on a limited scale. A strong commitment to greenery and nature not only benefits the environment and biodiversity, it also ensures that we can offer our employees an enjoyable work environment because greenery inspires, it helps us destress and helps us forget about our everyday worries for a while.
