[UP-TEMPO MUSIC]

Schijvens building from above.

VOICE-OVER
More and more large companies will be reporting on their 
sustainability policy and achievements. This is coming from 
the European guideline Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the CSRD. In the sustainability report there are three main themes: environment, social and governance. Privately held SME businesses won't be required to report, but the SME sector might have to deal with the CSRD through questions from suppliers or customers.
Shirley Schijvens of Schijvens Corporate Fashion and Corinne Vonk of Ayvens explain how they deal with the CSRD.

Shirley walks

SHIRLEY SCHIJVENS, CEO SCHRIJVENS CORPORATE FASHION
Schijvens is a very old family business. Ever since 1863 we've been producing workwear, corporate fashion, for all sorts of 
Dutch companies. We've always done that in Hilvarenbeek, in Brabant, and by now we do so in many countries countries across the world. At Schijvens we've become a head-tail 
production business. This means that the head, or the design and all of the preparations are done in the Netherlands and so is the tail, the logistics. We do this with about 150 people in total. The middle is spread out across the chain, China, Pakistan, India, you name it.

CORINNE VONK, CSR MANAGER AYVENS
Ayvens is a leasing company, one of the largest in the Netherlands and in Europe. We're committed to sustainable mobility and actually have the ambition to do much more 
than just leasing cars and we're looking at the entire mobility spectrum. So we're talking about cars, bikes as well as public transport. 

SHIRLEY SCHIJVENS
In the past year we won the first CSRD Award in the Netherlands for the SME sector. What the CSRD is asking of you is to report about the impact of you as a company on the world, and the other way around, the impact the world has on your business. So for example, for my company, the wages in low-income countries have an important impact on the textile industry, but the materials we use do too. Cotton requires a lot of water. Polyester is derived from oil. What can you do about that? So you'll have to think about that, 
and that's what you'll report on.

CORINNE VONK
We're a publicly listed business and that means we 
also have to record our sustainability ambitions in our reports 
and we do this according to the CSRD. As a Dutch entity we present our data to the group and they incorporate that into 
reports according to the CSRD guidelines. One of the challenges we experience there is that the data we deliver 
in the Netherlands can't be translated one-on-one to France, so conversions are necessary, for CO2 emissions for example,
because different prinicples may apply in France than in the Netherlands.

SHIRLEY SCHIJVENS
In any case, start by mapping out your chain, 
so you get an insight into who you're working with and why. 
And not just the first line, but also the entire chain behind it. 
That way you'll gain more and more insight into what takes 
place in your production chain. And then you can set priorities. 

CORINNE VONK
In the Netherlands we've conducted a lot of stakeholder interviews with customers and suppliers who are also getting started with the CSRD. What we notice in all those stakeholder interviews is that there are actually some very beautiful new initiatives that are starting to get off the ground.
Because by talking to one another about what you're working on, what's material to you, what's important to you, you also discover your agreements and differences, but you also see in which matters you can start working together and improve those initiatives. 

SHIRLEY SCHIJVENS
In the end it's not rocket science. You're in the textile industry, 
so logically there will be a few things that are going to come up a lot. Such as liveable wages in our textile factories and not necessarily the wages we pay here in the Netherlands.
Once you start measuring things, you can also think about 
how you can improve them.

CORINNE VONK
Two examples of very beautiful initiatives that could mean a lot, especially to Ayvens' smaller suppliers, are the industry-oriented approach from the BOVAG. They've developed an entire toolbox for all their members to prepare themselves for any questions from their suppliers, such as leasing companies.

Another very good example is the Groen Gedaan Foundation,
which helps its members prepare for the CSRD with a lot of information as well as special audit programmes so they can easily provide figures and reports about their business.

SHIRLEY SCHIJVENS
Collecting data sounds pretty complicated, but let me give 
you a simple example. I just asked our suppliers could you please send me your electric bills from the past years? 
And please indicate how many items you've produced. That way I know how much electricity was used per item and I can see how many items I've received from that supplier. So for my report I'll have the exact electricty usage of that supplier.
I did that for all of our suppliers and some suppliers say, I also have solar panels, so I'll be able to tick that box, this is an improvement.

CORINNE VONK
When making agreements with suppliers about providing data some very great new initiatives arise too. For example, producing car tires causes a lot of CO2 emissions and by using 
second-hand tires that meet all the safety requirements we'll reduce a bizarre amount of CO2.

SHIRLEY SCHIJVENS
Think about the fact that the laws being written are meant for that better planet, and you are a part of that too. So try to keep that in mind, it'll make working on something like this a lot of fun. 

CORINNE VONK
If you ask me what companies who are just getting started can do to prepare for the CSRD? I think there are three 
main things they should do. First of all, just get started. Two, ask for help. Not necessarily from all kinds of consultants who are eager to help you, but within your production chain as well. Because you are not alone. There are many others in the 
same boat who might be farther ahead. Use each other's knowledge. Sustainability is the perfect topic to collaborate in. Thirdly, keep the CSRD's goals in mind. That is, it's about 
making a positive impact.

SHIRELY SCHIJVENS
Where is that impact? What's an important one to your company and where can you make a difference? And if you put a lot of money and effort into that, I think you're going 
in the right direction. And if you report on that, I think that’s fine, so you're transparent towards your stakeholders as well, 
who'll want to read about that. That is, in my opinion, the CSRD.

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