Everyone is always talking about climate neutrality, sustainability and green mobility. However, taking effective steps towards sustainable business practices often turns out to be a different matter. Companies that actually commit to the climate are therefore inspiring. They are indispensable partners in building a more sustainable society.
That is why every year miK (environmental information for SMEs) and the province of Vlaams-Brabant look for companies that go out of their way to ensure a better climate. The company that stands out the most for its climate neutral business practices is awarded the title of Climate Ambassador. In 2018, this honour fell to DNS Belgium. This year, Drukkerij Van der Poorten from Leuven can call itself 'miK ambassador 2020'.
When awarding this title, miK takes into account the extent to which a company implements a well thought-out sustainability strategy and how relevant the achieved results are to the environment. Not only the experts in the jury decided on the winner, everyone was able to vote via an online voting campaign.
Sustainable printing for a better future
Family business Van der Poorten has been providing high-quality printed products for three generations already and the process has been completely climate-neutral since 2015. Just like DNS Belgium, Van der Poorten offsets its excess CO2. "By doing this and calculating our carbon footprint every year, we are able to produce printed products without a negative impact on the climate," explains managing director Filip Van Wezemael.
In addition, they also try to contribute directly to the environment by making more conscious choices. All printing is on paper from sustainably managed forests, without solvents and with natural inks. Paper waste is inevitable in this industry, but at Van der Poorten they reduce it to a minimum by printing digitally for small print runs. The 1,396 solar panels on the roof provide 100% green energy and their aluminium offset plates are recycled into new printing plates. This Vlaams-Brabant based company is committed to sustainable initiatives, both locally and internationally. A worthy winner in other words.
Sustainability has to be intertwined with the organisation's vision to make a lasting impact.
Inspiring climate company
As Climate Ambassador 2018, DNS Belgium knows that the successful implementation of a sustainability policy is not without challenges. Sustainability has to be intertwined with the organisation's vision to make a lasting impact. DNS Belgium tries to look at every aspect of entrepreneurship from a sustainability angle.
By underlining sustainable commuting, by being more aware of waste treatment and by offsetting excess CO2 emissions, among other things, we are completely climate neutral. We'd like to keep it that way, of course, and continue to pave the way towards a climate neutral future. Brand new climate ambassador Van der Poorten, with its inspiring sustainability policy, gives us the inspiration and motivation to keep going.
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.