CSR: enabling greater immersion in business processes

The world of tomorrow requires smart solutions to social, environmental, and economic issues. Nedlin has shown right from the start that companies have to take their responsibility. The developments and choices in the past have always been made with a view to the long term and with a focus on efficient and sustainable innovations. But Nedlin has invested additional efforts in its CSR policy in the past year. Directors Stef and Luuk de Win explain why and how they are developing this together with their employees.

"The decision to work even harder as a company to reduce our ecological footprint is definitely related to our own awareness," says Luuk. "We see how our world is changing and realize that we have to take responsibility for this even more than we have already done. Waiting for a government to come up with a solid vision does not suit us. When we decide to do something, we do it right. This is also reflected, for example, in the way in which we build and set up our laundries."

No green card

Stef adds that they are intrinsically motivated by their strong drive for innovation to tackle challenges in the field of CSR. "As a company, it is very easy to play the "green card", but we want to give our sustainability efforts real substance." Nedlin does this on the basis of its Sustainability Program, which covers all aspects of business operations – from water and energy savings in production to the choice of suppliers and from smart logistics solutions to investing in employees.

“We do not approach CSR as a stand-alone project, but on the basis of an integrated vision for our entire company," explains Luuk. "We then chose to work together with all the company's employees to make it a truly collaborative effort." The focus on CSR is not limited to a few inspirational meetings but is an ongoing process that is embedded in the organization. "Project groups are working on the introduction of GOTS bath linens in the healthcare sector and sustainable workwear in the industrial sector," explains Luuk. "But we're also having an in-depth look at the internal waste streams."

From theoretical to tangible

Stef adds that something like waste processing turns out to be a very complex matter when you start to really delve into it. "Proper separation at the source requires very careful consideration, as developments in this area are still in full swing. We are already better informed about how to separate more effectively. But when it comes to the reuse of linen and workwear, you can see that this has not developed as far as you would like it to. A laundry is, of course, already sustainable and by definition circular, because we use linen and workwear for a long time. A good washing process also means we get the maximum lifespan out of our products. But when it is really worn out, we can't go any further than upcycling. Fortunately, we are seeing more and more initiatives that enable recycling and extend the life cycle of products."

Luuk acknowledges that some challenges inspire some serious thought. "Developments are happening at lightning speed, and if you want to make the right choices, you need to gain in-depth understanding of the relevant topic." But he is also pleased to see that the chosen approach is a binding factor within the company. "At first, sustainability or CSR is seen as something abstract, until people actually start working on a subproject. You can then see that employees start to form a completely different view of the matter and understand that they can achieve results with their own insights and actions. For example, everyone now drinks coffee from a mug. Some employees have even made changes in their personal lives such as flying less or not at all."

Shared goals

In addition to our own employees, we include suppliers and clients in the CSR process. "We have developed a code of conduct, which explains how we believe that we should treat one another and how we should treat the world and our business activities. This is now signed as standard in a new employee's contract, as well as by our suppliers," says Luuk. "When you sit down with suppliers or clients to look for more sustainable solutions together, you get a completely different conversation than you had before. And this is even more fun, in fact, because you define an ambition that you share together."

However, not all clients have the same level of commitment to CSR. Luuk thinks there's a reason for that. "We work in three segments: Hospitality, Healthcare, and Industry. You can see that sustainable choices in the healthcare sector are rather topical, because they have a government behind them that stimulates this. We also have our own range of bath linens for Healthcare and chose to replace all new bath linens with GOTS cotton. In the hotel and catering industry, it's the client who decides on which linen and workwear they want. This is often determined by costs. But we believe that investing in GOTS bath linens is a good choice in the long term. This is something that we will naturally continue to invest in, as we are a healthy company."

Stef emphasizes that it is not possible to do everything at once. "We want to install LED lighting everywhere, and this is what will happen with the new building in Hoensbroek. But immediately replacing all the lighting in Elsloo at the same time would be too much." Stef is proud to have succeeded in installing solar panels on the roof of the new building in Hoensbroek, which will provide more than half of the energy required for the laundry. "It took a lot of time and energy to find out if the roof construction was suitable for this purpose. But, when it turned out to be possible, we knew it would be a great success."

The ambition extends further

Nedlin is not only successful at making products and energy consumption more sustainable, as the company has also achieved real change in terms of human capital over the past few years, says Stef. "Innovative technologies improve our employees' working conditions. And by investing in training and development, for example, we will soon have the first production employee who has developed to the level of a plant manager. I love seeing these types of development."

Despite the good steps that have already been taken, the brothers' ambition of the extends even further. "In the future, we want to be the most sustainable laundry in Europe. It is still too early to elaborate on this, but we're already sketching out the first plans," says Luuk. "And for the time being, it's good that a party like MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands), after reading our Sustainability Program, says that we are performing exceptionally well for a family company. That shows that we are on the right track."