Work works. Based on that motto, the Utrecht-based UW helps people distant from the labor market obtain suitable work. In the past year, the UW offered suitable work to about a thousand people. To do so, it works closely with a large number of companies, institutions, the municipality of Utrecht and other government agencies in the Utrecht region. Because of this broad social interconnectedness, UW is in a unique position to play a pioneering role in the field of sustainability and the environment: an opportunity UW did not pass up. To turn its green ambitions into viable environmental policies and truly lead the way, UW enlisted the expertise of Empact over a year ago. For this article, we spoke with UW director Gertjan Stoker and KAM advisor Tineke Lissenburg about their ambitions, challenges and experiences with Empact.
CO2 neutral by 2030
UW would like to make a positive impact on the environment, especially reducing its carbon footprint in order to be carbon neutral by 2030. Tineke: “We are very keen to contribute something positive to the environment, also because we are closely linked to the municipality of Utrecht. The municipality itself also wants to be at the forefront of sustainability and expects us to embrace its climate ambitions. So policy had to be set up for this, including in the area of purchasing and the attitude towards customers and suppliers. However, we did not have the necessary expertise for this in-house, so we soon figured out that we needed an external agency that has done this before.”
In choosing Empact, the good integration between theory and practice was critical, Gertjan adds: “There are plenty of companies claiming knowledge in this domain, but making it practically applicable in the specific context of UW is something Empact does well.”
“There are plenty of companies claiming knowledge in this domain, but making it practical in the specific context of UW is something Empact does well.”
From ambition to approach
In order to turn green ambitions into effective environmental policies, it was first important to determine the direction. Therefore, the project started with a brainstorming session, outlines Tineke: “What have we already done in the past? How do we see ourselves as a green company and what is actually involved in becoming CO2 neutral in 2030? What can we do to emit less CO2? Empact played a facilitating role in this and provided structure.”
Then came the challenge of embedding the environmental policy organization-wide. According to Gertjan, it is very important that everyone participates: “We at UW want to have the greatest possible influence on our environment. If we can mobilize the movement from within our own organization, we see that our chain partners catch on. Through this approach, we realize significant and lasting change.”
Tineke: “We started with a steering committee, but that didn’t actually work. UW is anything but a standard organization. Everyone is always very busy. On the one hand, we always have to make sure that our people can work, but also that our production of, for example, candy packaging and bicycle assembly runs smoothly. So many employees were not waiting for extra work and participation in yet another meeting every two weeks. That is why Gertjan was involved; to get everyone moving and to get everyone on the same page. The MT was also asked: do we want this? Because support throughout the organization is of course very important.” Thanks to a commitment from the MT and an adaptation of the working method proposed by Empact, the anchoring is now well arranged and the policy can be implemented and further shaped step by step.
“It is very nice that we can now properly show others what we are doing and also enthuse customers, clients and other stakeholders.”
Knowledge, enthusiasm and structure
In the coming year, Empact will also support UW in achieving its sustainability goals. Tineke says she finds the cooperation with Empact very pleasant: “They have brought knowledge and enthusiasm to us. In addition, they brought structure to everything we were implementing and take a very proactive approach. It is also very important that they really think along and understand our needs. Empact acts as a booster and initiator for us. For example, they email us to see if we are doing well with the homework we agreed on and help us make contacts. And even if something doesn’t quite go as planned, there is always a sleeve that is adjusted. That’s very pleasant.”
“Empact acts as a booster and catalyst for us. For example, they email us to see if we’re doing well with the homework we’ve agreed on and help us make contacts. That is very pleasant.”
A solid foundation toward the future
Meanwhile, a solid foundation has been laid at UW to significantly reduce its carbon footprint in the coming years and to become a leader in the region. Gertjan: “UW is one of the front-runner companies on the environment by 2030. By 2030, we will be climate neutral. We are and are doing this because we have experienced that the shift in thinking offers benefits for residents, employees, the UW organization and the environment.”
As a basis for working toward this goal, among other things, all transport movements and waste streams were mapped and UW now knows what its carbon footprint was in 2021. In addition, there is a clear environmental policy which has been approved by the MT. Tineke: “With a roadmap with a time schedule indicating what we all want to do when.” One result of last year’s efforts is that UW knows exactly where it stands and where real gains can be made in areas such as energy use, electrification of the fleet and machinery and reducing waste streams. A lot of gains have also been made in the area of communication, Tineke points out: “In this regard, it is very nice that we can now properly show others what we are doing and also enthuse customers, clients and other stakeholders. Empact now helps us with communication and setting up partnerships with customers and suppliers who also want to become greener. In this way, together we are moving forward step by step.”