Sustainability

As an internationally operating family business with a history dating back almost 100 years, we aim to be a financially healthy company. At the same time, we assume our responsibility for environment, people and society. Only by treating the world and one another with due care can we pass on the baton to new generations and keep the earth livable. This is why we are carrying out our business operations and implementing our growth plans increasingly more sustainably. In 2022, we established our strategy and undertook a number of large-scale sustainability initiatives. We will take further steps to realize our goals in this area over the coming years as well.

We strongly support sustainable ways of working and use the highest ethical standards for our people, customers and suppliers. We aim to be frontrunners when it comes to doing business within the value chain in more sustainable ways. At the same time, we create a satisfying and sustainable workplace for our people.

Van Leeuwen assumes its responsibility in helping to limit global warming. This is why our top priority for the coming years is to work toward carbon-neutral business operations. It is our ambition to be the greenest distributor of pipes and tubes in the world before 2030.

2022-2025 sustainability strategy

We developed our 2022-2025 sustainability strategy in 2021. The question of how Van Leeuwen can create value in sustainable ways, now and in the future, is the key focus of this strategy. The strategy focuses on four themes: Climate Action, People, Growth, and Partners & Suppliers. We make our sustainability objectives measurable as much as possible; we consider the entire value chain in this respect.

In line with the UN Agenda

The aforementioned themes from our sustainability strategy are in line with the goals of the UN Agenda 2030. We selected seven (of the seventeen) UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). We are working on these seven goals first. They are as follows: Good Health and Well-being, Gender Equality, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action and Partnerships with relevant partners to work on/achieve these goals.

Specific targets for each theme

Specific targets are linked to each theme within our strategy.

Within the Climate Action theme we work on identifying and reducing our carbon footprint throughout the entire value chain.

To achieve this, we:

• Are switching over to renewable energy sources;
• Safeguard the reuse of materials within our business operations; for example scrap metal, slings and pallets;
• Reduce waste, water and paper consumption;
• Reduce our CO₂ emissions;
• Comply with laws and regulations concerning regulated substances and raw materials.

Within the People theme we work on a sustainable and motivating workplace for our employees.

To achieve this, we:

• Ensure a safe working environment;
• Create excellent workspaces where people can develop themselves, can learn new skills, are given opportunities and where they can continue to grow;
• Offer people equal opportunities, regardless of gender, race or background; we aim to be an inclusive employer for everyone.

The People theme is closely linked to our HR policy and our People Strategy. We are very much aware that we can only maintain our strong position in the market when we offer our employees opportunities to be the best they can be. In 2022, we therefore once again made considerable investments in the development of our employees, at all levels, and we will continue to do this over the coming years.

Within the Growth theme we work on a financially healthy and sustainable business.

To achieve this, we:

• Support society by contributing to charitable organizations;
• Ensure every employee has a position with suitable content;
• Ensure an ethical way of working.

Within the Partners & Suppliers theme we work on creating optimal cooperation with our partners in the area of sustainability.

To achieve this, we:

• Engage our partners in dialogue in order to reduce our Scope 3 emissions;
• Work toward close cooperation within the supply chain and, together with suppliers, investigate possibilities of producing and distributing pipes and tubes with a reduced carbon footprint;
• Together with our customers, investigate where we can use these pipes with a reduced carbon footprint;
• Ensure responsible procurement and supply chain management.

The longer term

We will of course continue to devote efforts to a healthy future for new generations after 2025. We have developed a roadmap for the longer term. This way we steadily work toward the next milestone. Right now, our key focus is on CO₂ reduction. In 2024, our goal is to embed sustainability in our business operations. In 2025, we aim to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Since 2015, more than 1,000 companies have joined this initiative to enable them to set scientifically supported climate targets.

Our top priority for the coming years is to work toward carbon-neutral operations with the aim of being the greenest pipe and tube distributor in the world before 2030.