At Supply Chain Valley, companies, knowledge institutions and government in the (Eu)region of North Limburg work closely together on projects in areas such as sustainability, labour market, energy transition, digitalisation, innovation, infrastructure and mobility. For the sustainability theme, the foundation focuses on the strategy to reduce CO2 emissions in logistics.
SMART, the forerunner of Supply Chain Valley, has been working on this theme since 2014. "This topic is intrinsic to the entrepreneurs and initiators of Supply Chain Valley," states Peter Pardoel, chairman of the Board of Directors, "even well before the EU climate targets for 2050 were announced." According to Pardoel, these climate targets are particularly long-term. "It are dots on the horizon, while there are also short-term obligations coming from the government for entrepreneurs. For example, mandatory CO2 record keeping for transport companies in 2023."
To create a clear overview with achievable sustainability targets, Pardoel says one thing is indispensable: "Having a sustainability agenda that sets out a plan for the coming years, stating when your company has to meet which requirement. From Supply Chain Valley, we are going to help entrepreneurs in North Limburg draw this up. Without a sustainability agenda, you won't make it as an entrepreneur: government pressure and obligations are increasing and the non-committal way in which we currently deal with sustainability will eventually disappear. As entrepreneurs wait until five to twelve, they run the risk of barely being able to sustain investments or being miles behind on the climate goals as an organisation. Therefore, the aim of the foundation is to have a good understanding of these targets and to translate them clearly to entrepreneurs, by organising workshops and meetings."
Early adopters
Gerbert Vissers is managing director of Vissers Energy Group and chairman of the 'Sustainability' building block at Supply Chain Valley. As entrepreneur, he values sustainable investment and therefore opened Limburg's first hydrogen filling station in Horst in April 2022. "Hydrogen plays an important role in the energy transition because it is an efficient energy carrier," he says. "Hydrogen is similar to petrol in terms of price, but it has zero emissions," Vissers says. "It is therefore suitable for cars, trucks and tractors." With this sustainability investment, Pardoel says Vissers is an example for entrepreneurs in the region. "By making a refuelling station possible, while there are no hydrogen-powered cars yet, he is a forerunner in the field of sustainability solutions as an entrepreneur. For the future of businesses, hydrogen tanks are an opportunity to become carbon neutral. This puts Vissers at the forefront of a sustainability solution as an entrepreneur: we need these early adopters throughout North Limburg." Vissers: "With Supply Chain Valley, we also want to help other entrepreneurs in the region to make investments that put them at the forefront of sustainability solutions to make Supply Chain Valley the most sustainable logistics hotspot in the Netherlands."
Chain
Corporate social responsibility is the future according to both gentlemen. "Large global players, with a huge impact on the planet, are feeling enormous global pressure from environmentalists," Vissers explains, "with the result that these companies want to be at the forefront of sustainability and thus corporate social responsibility. This means within the company: equal rights, gender equality, inclusiveness, anti-child labour and having a sustainability agenda." Pardoel added: "However, a chain is as strong as its weakest link. As If such a global player meets certain sustainability requirements with its company, all companies in the supply chain must comply. Here in the region, there are many logistics companies that fall into the chain of major players as suppliers. As your company will soon not match your customers' sustainability requirements, they will look for other suppliers who can. To prevent this, it is important for entrepreneurs in the region to invest in sustainability. We want to convey this message to them."
Pardoel stresses the urgency. "Talking about the usefulness and necessity of this is almost a thing of the past. The clock is ticking: it is high time to take action!"
Free event 'Charging electric cars: opportunities and challenges'
On Wednesday, 17 May next. Supply Chain Valley Foundation, together with Entrepreneurial Venlo, the RVO (Rijkdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland) and Stichting Duurzame Bedrijventerreinen, is organising the free event 'Electric car charging: opportunities and challenges' on Wednesday 17 May next. Speakers will be members of RVO's De Vliegende Brigade, who are committed to helping both municipalities and entrepreneurs realise logistics charging infrastructure. Please register via info@supplychainvalley.com (please include company name, first and last name)
Supply Chain Valley has 11 pillars, or building blocks, on which the foundation is founded. From Supply Chain Valley, large, societal themes can be approached from a common vision and approach. The building block 'Sustainability' makes a strong case for sustainability within Supply Chain Valley. The energy generated in the valley should ideally be incorporated into the process immediately and energy consumption should be contained. The building block gathers and shares knowledge on corporate sustainability to ensure, together with all stakeholders, that Supply Chain Valley's ecological footprint is as small as possible. Aligned and balanced with profitability; profitable sustainable growth.
Encouraging and implementing more sustainability in the supply chain process is what this building block is committed to. Think about installing wind turbines and solar panels and commissioning trucks and terminal trucks that run on energy generated in Supply Chain Valley. We want to innovate by harnessing hydrogen and electricity to power trucks. The electric grid is currently insufficient in size; 'too much' energy is fed back into the grid. Wind turbines then have to be switched off because the energy generated has 'nowhere to go'. As the energy can be 'consumed' on site, less energy is lost. The building block also wants to provide knowledge in a more sustainable policy. The ultimate goal of all efforts is, of course, to minimise the carbon footprint of companies in Supply Chain Valley.
