SUSTAINABILITY

Since our foundation in 1985, we at ViTeS have been striving to make a real positive impact on people and the environment. Through our social employment program, we try to create sufficient employment opportunities for people who find it difficult to find their place in the labor market, so that they too can participate fully in our society. Through our recycling activities, we offer inexpensive, high-quality second-hand goods in our stores. For people living in poverty, this range of products can make a real difference. At the same time, we are also trying to create a more circular world, in which raw materials and energy are used more sustainably and consumption and production are more responsible. Every kilogram of goods donated to a Kringwinkel store equates to a saving of 0.87 kilograms in CO2 emissions*. In this way, we are doing more than our bit in the fight against global warming. 

However, with ViTeS, we also try to look beyond our core activities: we try to maximize sustainable principles in all aspects and processes of our business operations. To this end, we have set up numerous campaigns and projects in recent years with which we try to cover all of the UN's SDGs (see THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development). Our initiatives can be divided into three main themes: Sustainable use of materials and raw materials, Sustainable use of people, and Sustainable use of energy and water.

*This has been calculated by the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM).

The extraction of raw materials and the production of materials usually has a significant ecological impact. So the more we can recover (locally) in circular applications, the better for our planet. Of course, we first and foremost try to maximize our own reuse rates, as this is still the most sustainable option. To this end, we have, among other things, our KiloMet store in Anderlecht (ViTeSBE | De KiloMET), where we sell goods that cannot be sold in our other stores at very affordable prices per kilo or meter. In this way, these goods are still reused instead of being sent for recycling.

We have also been further developing and professionalizing our electrical repair workshop in recent years. This has enabled us to significantly increase the percentage of collected appliances that we repair or refurbish in a sustainable manner. After all, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing waste stream in the world and often contains rare earth metals. To this end, we participate in the VLAIO Living Lab ‘Repair First’ (Repair First - Detail - Flanders Circular) and the Interreg NWE ‘E6’ project (About E6 | E6), among others. Within these two projects, we are working with other electrical repairers, knowledge centers, waste processors, NGOs, other thrift stores, governments, etc. to find ways to make the repair and reuse of electronic devices more common and accessible (and thus counteract the tendency to encourage citizens to continuously purchase new electrical appliances, with all the associated harmful consequences for the environment). We are collaborating on the development of digital tools for repair, the establishment of diagnosis and repair points, the development of training courses for electrical repairers, raising awareness and supporting citizens, setting up sustainable partnerships, formulating policy recommendations, building databases on repair and electrical appliances, etc.  Within the E6 project, we are trying to bring all these issues together in urban ecosystems where citizens and electrical repairers receive maximum support and (second-hand) electrical appliances easily find their way to local sustainable repairs and applications. This involves collaboration between different regions in Northwest Europe that want to develop an urban ecosystem. There is continuous exchange and cooperation, with the different regions seeking to provide each other with maximum support, stimulation, and inspiration.

We also try to divert collected goods and materials that are no longer suitable for reuse to sustainable forms of upcycling or recycling as much as possible. For example, we also collect non-repairable electrical appliances. We do this for Recupel (the Belgian UPV organization), which then directs these appliances to the most suitable recycling applications.

The other product groups that we collect for reuse also contain a large undercurrent of goods that, after sorting and inspection, prove to be no longer reusable/saleable. This concerns considerable quantities, especially for textiles and plastics, which are often disposed of as waste.  For these two undercurrents, we have therefore been looking for ways in recent years to channel them as much as possible into other local and more sustainable applications, such as recycling and upcycling. To this end, we are also a partner in two other VLAIO Living Labs, namely the ‘Living Lab Plastics’ (Living Lab Plastics - Detail - Flanders Circular) and ‘Labs On Fibre’ (Living Labs on Fibre - Detail - Flanders Circular). Here too, we are setting up partnerships with knowledge centers, waste processors, NGOs, other thrift stores, governments, recycling companies, etc. to drive innovation, develop new industrial applications, and create sustainable cities and communities. Thorough analyses are made of the characteristics of these sub-streams. The information and data obtained from these analyses is used to influence policy and to encourage producers to adopt more responsible production practices and implement eco-design principles in their products. This, in turn, leads to more responsible consumption.

Sustainability with people is primarily about treating our own employees (those in social employment and those in management) with the utmost care. Their well-being and welfare must always be central. This is assessed annually in a development interview with each employee. In this development interview, the employee engages in dialogue with his/her manager and both can indicate what went well in the past year, where they see room for further development, and how well the employee felt within the organization in general. The aim is for everyone to be able to identify with ViTeS, to be completely themselves in our organization, and to be completely free from discrimination or gender inequality. This inclusivity is therefore enshrined in our employment regulations, our mission, vision, and values, and our articles of association. To reinforce this, we undertake the annual “ViTeS comes out of the closet” campaign, organized an inclusive fashion show with our partner organization Honk, and joined the Kring Core campaign at the sector level.

We also provide all our employees with comprehensive hospitalization and outpatient insurance, which they can extend to their family members at a low cost. Many of our employees come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through this insurance, we prevent medical costs from putting too much pressure on our employees' financial situation and ensure that they always have access to the best medical care. In this way, we contribute to reducing inequality while strengthening the well-being and health of our employees.

We also want to ensure that all our employees can develop to their full potential through high-quality training and education. Many of our employees are low-skilled, which leads to a significant gap between them and the regular labor market and to unequal opportunities in our society. By offering sufficient training opportunities in the workplace and within the organization, we hope to bridge this gap as much as possible. To this end, we have implemented ‘Learning and Development’ software in our organization. This software makes it easy to create and monitor an individualized training program for each employee. The employee's training needs are assessed annually during the development interview.

We pay special attention to Dutch. Many of our employees have limited Dutch reading, writing, or even speaking skills. This is obviously detrimental to their chances on the labor market or in our society. Through language coaching, we have therefore ensured in recent years that ViTeS is an organization that takes these language issues into account and actively encourages employees to further develop their Dutch on the job.

All these initiatives and actions have resulted in us consistently achieving very high scores in the latest audits for our QforWSE quality label (https://certup.be/nl/certificatie-en-kwaliteitsaudits/qfor-wse-audit/).

However, we also try to make an active contribution to the fight against poverty and inequality outside our organization. As mentioned earlier, we try to create an attractive and high-quality range of products for people living in poverty with our low retail prices. Our KiloMet store in Anderlecht (with its very affordable prices) is even located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Belgium. This makes the store very easily accessible to its main target group.

In addition, we try to contribute to the activities of poverty organizations wherever possible. We do this mainly by donating or selling collected goods at a partner discount. For some projects, we even organize specific collection campaigns. For example, every year we collect clothing and blankets for the homeless for the winter period. In the fight against child poverty, we collect school bags in August for the ‘back to school campaign’ and children's books in February for Children's Book Month. After all, every child has the right to quality school materials and education.

We are always looking for social initiatives and projects to which we can make a substantial contribution. Poverty and welfare organizations are therefore welcome to contact us with proposals and questions, after which we will assess internally whether it is within our capabilities. To ensure that these are not just empty words, we have assigned someone a number of hours to develop and implement a concrete poverty policy.

We strive to minimize the impact of our business processes on the climate and water consumption. We make our buildings as energy efficient as possible. At our locations in Heverlee, Boortmeerbeek, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Wespelaar, and Vilvoorde, there are a total of more than 4,000 solar panels, enabling us to be self-sufficient in affordable and green energy. When constructing new buildings, we always try to use the most sustainable technologies. Since 2024, with the construction of our new store and HUB in Vilvoorde, ViTeS even has a building that no longer uses any fossil fuels at all.

Where possible, we recover rainwater for sanitary purposes at our sites. At our electrical repair workshop in Boortmeerbeek, we also use rainwater to test repaired washing machines. We then purify this wastewater using our own water treatment plant. In this way, we contribute to more sustainable water consumption and create a positive impact on aquatic life.

Due to our many branches, pick-ups, and deliveries, there is also a lot of transport every day. We naturally try to limit the associated CO2 emissions as much as possible. As a result, almost all of our pool vehicles for business travel are now electric and are charged with green energy from our solar panels. We are also experimenting with electric vans for emptying textile street containers. However, this is not yet financially feasible for our larger freight traffic, but we are continuing to closely monitor this market. This will enable us to immediately switch to electric trucks when this becomes possible. In the meantime, when purchasing new trucks, we always opt for vehicles with the best Euro standard currently available on the market.

We note that our workforce is extremely diverse. In total, ViTeS employs people with different abilities from almost 60 countries. This means not only a wide variety of languages, colors, and religions, but above all a daily melting pot of a large part of this beautiful world.  ViTeS is a microcosm of the world. 

Diversity is clearly not a passing fad for ViTeS. Since its inception, diversity has been a top priority.  ViTeS stands for an open, diverse, tolerant, and inclusive workplace where everyone who wants to work is welcome. Diversity is in our genes and in our DNA.

But ViTeS wants to go even further. That is why we are committed to making our workplace free of racism, free of sexism, free of discrimination. Everyone counts at ViTeS. 

Every employee can rest assured that at ViTeS we have a zero-tolerance policy for racism, sexism, and discrimination.

 And that is our commitment.  

As a supplement and extension to its commitment to diversity, ViTeS emphasizes the importance of human rights and the environment.

As a social enterprise, we stand for the right to work. Everyone who is born has a number of rights. We are all born as human beings and therefore all have the same rights.

That alone gives us human rights and fundamental rights, and the right to work is part of that. Respecting and striving to realize human rights for everyone is what makes us human.

When it comes to the environment, the issues are at least as urgent. We have every interest in keeping this world livable. We are not sufficiently aware that the world does not need humans, but humans need the world. And by extension, that applies to life itself. Life on this planet certainly did not wait for the presence of humans.

The environment is therefore not a matter for tomorrow, but a matter of life and death. First and foremost for ourselves and, by extension, for the next generations.

Due to the nature of our activities (collecting, repairing, preparing for sale, and selling reusable waste), we have little or no international trade relations. We do not have anything manufactured abroad. Where we do sell residual fractions on the market, we do so to players that are recognized by OVAM (the Belgian public waste management agency) in order to guarantee that they are used in applications that comply with environmental legislation. As far as our own infrastructure is concerned, we are constantly raising the bar by using as little fossil fuel as possible. Where possible, when purchasing means of production, we take into account the country of production, production methods, and working conditions.

In the specific field of textiles, there is always a risk of export outside Europe. ViTeS makes every effort to organize textile recycling and reuse as much as possible within a European context.

We are also in constant consultation with our stakeholders on these topics. For example, we regularly conduct customer surveys and also regularly seek the opinions of our employees. We maintain constant contact with partner organizations, local authorities, and higher authorities and keep them informed of all relevant issues.

ViTeS has been officially recognized as an SDG Ambassador within the VCDO program!

After a growth process lasting no less than seven years – from SDG Pioneer to SDG Champion – we have now acquired the highest title that exists within the SDG process: we are Ambassadors. This gives us official recognition from the United Nations for our sustainability efforts. We now belong to a select group of organizations that serve as examples of sustainable entrepreneurship worldwide. And we are proud of that!

What exactly does that mean?

SDG stands for Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations' sustainable development goals.

These 17 goals are a blueprint for a better future: the SDGs form a global plan to end extreme poverty, inequality, and climate change by 2030. They range from fair employment to responsible production, gender equality, and climate action.

As an SDG Ambassador, ViTeS has proven that sustainability is not just a project for us, but an integral part of our operations: from reuse and social employment to energy efficiency and poverty reduction.

We also inspire and support other organizations to fulfill their social responsibility, both locally and globally — we are driving change.

Why is this so special?

• ViTeS is only the second company in Flemish Brabant to receive this recognition.
• We are the first social enterprise in Flanders to become an SDG Ambassador.
• And even the first social profit company to achieve this title.

This milestone is not only a recognition for our team, but for everyone who is working with us to build a warm, fair, and sustainable society.