During the Business Club on 26 October 2023, Hima Benelux presented its CSR roadmap at the Duvel-Moortgat Brewery visitor centre.
Around 50 Hima Benelux members were present.
Piet De Coninck, after an intro and some internal announcements from the federation, gave the floor to Dirk Leroy of Sustenuto. He guided our CSR working group to arrive at the roadmap and highlighted the follow-up steps we can offer the members within the federation.
Our thanks to the members of the CSR working group within Hima Benelux: Hendrik Vervenne (Compo) - Yves Desmet (Soudal) - Pieter VanLaere (Saint Gobain) - Gunther Dreezen (Novatech) - Mark Ketelaars (Bostik) - Rutger Verbiest - Eva Marshang (Eltra) - Edwin Lips (Giardino).
Herewith the presentation (dutch).
HIMA Sustainability Roadmap 2025
During the development of the CSR roadmap, valuable insights were gathered during interviews with our members. These interviews highlighted some crucial views.
First, our members stress the importance of raising awareness among companies about the need for a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. They stress that it is essential to clearly explain the relevance of this strategy.
Moreover, our members see it as their role to support companies in setting up CSR initiatives. They want to provide guidance and guide companies so that they can translate their own CSR ambitions. Outlining a framework can especially help smaller members.
Another salient point is the importance of joining forces. Our members realise that if they can be the voice of a hundred suppliers, they can achieve their goals faster, even with limited resources. HIMA has around 100 members, many of whom are SMEs and family businesses.
In addition, our members stress the opportunity to raise HIMA's strong profile as an organisation by projecting a clear vision of CSR.
Finally, they point to the great impact that can be made by acting together. Together, they represent as much as 80% of the business figure in their market. Therefore, through joint efforts, they can create a significant impact. Clearly, CSR is an important part of their mission to support their members in everything relevant to the DIY market, including emerging trends such as CSR.
The results of the member survey on the CSR roadmap indicate that the following themes receive the most attention: climate, sustainable packaging, sustainable procurement and circularity. Four crucial roles have been identified within HIMA: informing members, defining a vision for the sector, external communication and initiating projects in which members can participate.
In addition, there are some notable observations. The impact of CSR initiatives is mainly observed in the areas of environment, society and employees. The actions taken focus mainly on products and the environment, with less emphasis on social issues. The majority of members are familiar with terms such as CSR, ESG and CSR, although knowledge of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) is somewhat more limited. There is also more familiarity with the EU Green Deal compared to CSRD reporting, and almost no one has knowledge of CS3D (Due Diligence).
Finally, about a third of members have published an external sustainability report.
Our vision is clear: Rolling up our sleeves for a sustainable future.
Our Sustainability Roadmap for 2025 includes the following strategies:
1. Climate Action: We work with our members to develop action plans that contribute to European targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Sustainable Value Chain: Our members make thoughtful choices when selecting suppliers that act sustainably.
3. Growth of Sustainable Products: We encourage our members to promote the growth of sustainable products in their assortment.
4. Human Involvement: Together with our members, we undertake initiatives to motivate employees and make consumers aware of sustainability. Together, we roll up our sleeves for a sustainable future.
The HIMA Sustainability Roadmap for 2025 consists of several components to promote sustainability. One of these are informative webinars organised by pillar and accessible to all, with the aim of providing support.
In addition, the roadmap includes communication efforts, such as the use of social media, online platforms and blogs to promote and discuss sector initiatives.
Practical templates are also provided so that people can get started on sustainability initiatives themselves.
A concrete example of an initiative in this context is the collaboration with retailers to create ‘Climate Squares’, contributing to sustainability goals.
In 2025, we will launch several concrete initiatives.
One of these focuses on climate, where we may work on a climate plan to reduce impact.
We will also promote sustainable procurement in our value chain and explore how best to do so.
We may also introduce green product certificates and labels for our products to highlight their environmental friendliness.
Finally, we will organise a webinar on sustainability especially for HIMA member employees to raise awareness and engagement.
