Social economy

Van Os-Sonnevelt supports local employment projects.

Since 2008 Van Os-Sonnevelt supports the bike rental project Fietspunt of Groep Intro Vlaams-Brabant in Londerzeel. This project gives difficult to employ people a dual training: they become qualified bike mechanics and they have a First working experience. Employees at Van Os-Sonnevelt can use one of the company bikes to ride to and from the train station of Londerzeel.

In 2010, the organization Spectrum vzw and the municipality of Londerzeel started a company ironing service. This project too is fully endorsed by Van Os-Sonnevelt.

Certificate Corporate Social Responsibility

Van Os-Sonnevelt has successfully participated in Quadrant, the Learning Network for Corporate Social Responsibility of VOKA Halle-Vilvoorde.

In the Learning Network Corporate Social Responsibility, businesses engage in a dialogue with one another and with specialized consultants of Sustenuto in search of higher levels of sustainability for their activities. Theoretical concepts are interspersed with practical exercises and testimonials from former participants who applied Quadrant insights into their own businesses.

Van Os-Sonnevelt’s Christophe Landuyt took part in the sessions of the Learning Network. He made himself familiar with the basic principles of sustainable business and sought means to apply new insights to the maximum in the daily activities of Van Os-Sonnevelt and in its dialogue with customers and suppliers. During the Community Day on April 7th at the social centre ‘La Ferme de nos Pilifs’, Christophe received the CSR certificate on behalf of Van Os-Sonnevelt.

(picture (c) C-photos

More articles about VOKA
More articles about UN Global Compact
More articles about Kauri

Second Duo Day on March 24th

Van Os-Sonnevelt takes part in the second Flemish edition of the Duo Day on Thursday March 24th.

During the Duo Day, companies play host for individuals with an employability handicap, who teams up with one of the regular employees of the company to get a first taste of what it is like to do that specific job. This originally Irish initiative was taken up in Flanders by Resoc and GTB and got the immediate support of 20 companies in the province of Flemish-Brabant.

The main idea behind the Duo Day is that hard to employ people often experience barriers when trying to find a job. By giving them a first, even one-day, experience they get a better idea of what it is like to work in a company and with colleagues, what the atmosphere on the work floor is like and how one deals with tasks and responsibilities.

An experienced employee takes up the role of tutor and makes sure everything runs smoothly. However, the first objective of the Duo Day is not the find a job immediately for those who participate in it, but much more to make bridges between the two world of people with a job and those without one.

Towards more sustainability

From September onwards, Van Os-Sonnevelt will take part in Quadrant, the Learning Network for Corporate Social Responsibility of VOKA Halle-Vilvoorde.

In the Learning Network Corporate Social Responsibility, businesses engage in a dialogue with one another and with specialized consultants of Sustenuto in search of higher levels of sustainability for their activities. Theoretical concepts are interspersed with practical exercises and testimonials from former participants who applied Quadrant insights into their own businesses.

Van Os-Sonnevelt participates in the third cycle of Quadrant in order to improve the strategic embedding of the sustainability policy and the full integration of various actions and measures in our ISO 9001 quality management system.


More articles about VOKA
More articles about Kauri
More articles about UN Global Compact

Much media coverage for Duo Day

The first edition of the Duo Day, in which Van Os-Sonnevelt took part, created much media coverage. Two local tv-stations and a bunch of press photographers came to Londerzeel to shoot footage.

On Thursday 25th of March the first edition of the Duo Day took place. Initiator Resoc was inspired by a national event in Ireland, where people with a labor handicap team up with their employed counterparts in a real enterprise. Good for the participants, who get a better view of the kind of work that is done in different companies. And good for the participating companies, who get an opportunity for reflection on the labour market and the difficulties of people who are hard to employ.
Van Os-Sonnevelt was among the first companies to support this initiative and hosted a press conference during the Duo Day. Dozens of journalists came to Londerzeel to shoot footage in the warehouse.



View the photo gallery

Minister visits Van Os-Sonnevelt

On Wednesday March 25th, the Flemish minister of Mobility, Social Economy and Equal Rights Kathleen Van Brempt visited Van Os-Sonnevelt.

Wednesday 25th of March was the official inauguration of a new Ride & Bike point at the station of Londerzeel. These Bike & Ride outlets (in Dutch: Fietspunt) are a combination of a bike repair shop and a bike rental point, where employees of Londerzeel based companies can place their (corporate) bike in safekeeping when they take the train home. All bikes are looked after by difficult-to-employ collaborators who get an on the spot job training as a bike repairer. The Bike & Ride outlets are sponsored by a social Fund created to stimulate alternative ways of commuting between home and the working place.
Van Os-Sonnevelt was one of the pioneers in this project, that was developed in close cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, RESOC and Group Intro. To give the official opening extra colour, dozens of VIP’s took the bike and cycled from the station to the Van Os-Sonevelt headquarters, where they were awaited by minister Kathleen Van Brempt. She unfolded her new plans for the mobility Fund in front of the press and gave a small speech for the attendees.
After the ceremony, the minister received a small present: a statue made entirely of old bike and car tires, made by the Antwerp sculpturer Serge Vandeput.



View the photo gallery

Sustainable pedaling

Van Os-Sonnevelt recently bought two bikes that can be used by employees to commute between the company and the railway station in the town center of Londerzeel. The purchase is part of a mobility program of the Flemish government.

Sustainable job mobility has been identified as a priority by both government and companies with a high corporate responsibility. Easy access to jobs and low(er) environmental impact of commuter traffic are two of the main criteria for government funding of job mobility projects that have both an ecological and a social vocation.

For the Londerzeel project, local companies bought 80 bikes that will be available for employees. In cooperation with the not for profit organization Intro, a bike collect & return point will be opened near the railway station. Commuters can pick up a bike in the morning and return in the evening when they go home. The bikes will be maintained by a team of trainee-repairmen.

Van Os-Sonnevelt was one of the initiators of this joint project of the local industry association IGL, the Flemish Chambers of Commerce, industrial estate manager Haviland and the town council. We bought two bikes to give the project a kick-start.


More articles about UN Global Compact

Van Os-Sonnevelt diversity policy

In December 2006, Van Os-Sonnevelt was among the first companies in its industry to sign the diversity policy developed by the Diversity Entrepreneurs Platform.

As a consequence, the company will maximize opportunities for people who are hard to employ in the regular job market: foreigners, older people, disabled people…
The Diversity Entrepreneurs Platform is a joint initiative of the employers’ organizations VOKA, VKW and Unizo. It started end October 2006 and aims at stimulating employers to embed diversity in their human resources policy.
“The Diversity Entrepreneurs Platform hands us several tools to successfully implement a diversity policy throughout the entire company”, says Gerard van Os. “When done properly, diversity increases the employees’ involvement in the corporate social policy. It would be great if, through signing the diversity policy, we could add to a better understanding between people who differ from one another.”


More articles about UN Global Compact