Sustainability team: the focus on social return with Meggy’s arrival

17-10-2024

Sustainability team: the focus on social return with Meggy’s arrival

Gielissen’s sustainability team is growing. Meggy Smulders’ arrival steers our focus more towards inclusion, for example through Social Return On Investment.

Distance from the labor market

Meggy (29) started working for Gielissen in January and over the previous four years she has gained experience in the social domain. In the Stichting Maatschappelijke Opvang (SMO, Social relief foundation) Jobfactory in Helmond, Meggy has been facilitating labor participation. ‘I often hear this referred to as people distanced from the labor market. I am not at all comfortable with this label and I believe that it actually creates a gap. It is not the people who are responsible for the distance, but the companies who fail to harness their talents.’

The Skôn product range, which Meggy developed together with the talented hands at SMO Jobfactory and students from SintLucas, just goes to show what is actually possible. ‘Skôn is a special collection of handmade, sustainable interior products. We developed these products based on the wishes and strengths of our people. We looked at what someone wanted to learn, and came up with a product to suit this. Resulting in truly beautiful creations.’

Social Return on Investment

Meggy is enthusiastic about applying everything she learnt at Jobfactory in her work at Gielissen. ‘With Gielissen’s global work field, I can really create impact here. I was already familiar with several of Gielissen’s sustainable initiatives, like the harvest hall. Various materials we used for Skôn, were donated by Gielissen. When I heard that Gielissen also had ambitions to do more with social return, I was completely convinced.’

‘Social Return on Investment (SROI) is all about creating social value alongside financial gain’, Meggy explains. ‘It is about measuring and maximizing the positive impact that our projects have on society. For Gielissen, this means not only using sustainable materials and processes, but also making a positive contribution to society and our employees.’

Utilizing labor potential

Meggy is someone who thinks in terms of possibilities. ‘It can be difficult to find suitable staff in the manufacturing industry. Despite sufficient employment, not everyone manages to find a job that suits them. I don’t think this is so much down to the person themselves, but rather the fact that many business processes are not laid out to facilitate this. I have experienced firsthand how unused labor potential can be employed sustainably. There are always ways to achieve this.’

‘Collaborating with organizations such as local social care agencies, sheltered workshops and social enterprises can increase our impact.’ Besides SMO Helmond, Gielissen collaborates with Stichting Stunt. ‘This apprenticeship company in Delft has a sewing studio. There they give a second lease of life to spent exhibition cloth and harvested interior fabrics’, says Meggy. ‘I want to visit them soon. I am excited to see how we can consolidate our partnership.’

Investing in people

Harnessing labor potential is also applicable for current employees, through investing in talent development and ownership. ‘Being development oriented is one of Gielissen’s core competencies. A lot is already happening, from low-threshold training with GoodHabitz to customized courses. But you can never let this topic rest. This is inherent to the word ‘developing’. So it makes me happy to see Gielissen invest in training employees, both in the thinkers and doers.’

Another important point is vitality. ‘It might seem obvious’, says Meggy, ‘but take good care of your employees. Satisfied employees ensure satisfied customers.’ It struck Meggy that Gielissen does this already, without this always being visible to the outside world. ‘Like a vitality week, workspace inspections by a physiotherapist and a cycle-to-work day. Great foundations to build on in the coming period.’

Celebrating diversity

Another important ambition is the promotion of diversity and inclusion. ‘We know from research that diverse teams perform better’, says Meggy. ‘Increasing creativity and innovative power, for instance.’ Due to the global projects Gielissen works on, an open view of the world is already second nature to us. ‘We feel at home anywhere in the world and have colleagues on three continents. Of course, there are always things that could be improved. When I walk around in Eindhoven and Helmond, I think our teams could be more diverse. We are actively developing policies in order to achieve this goal. We want to celebrate diversity.’

Bart Rouwette, COO at Gielissen, welcomes all the developments. ‘We consider how our business could be made more sustainable every day. It is a multi-faceted topic. With Meggy on board, we will be able to balance people, planet and profit even better. Her can-do view of human enterprise is a great addition to all the developments already underway. This is really going to help Gielissen, and our clients move forward.’