INCLUDE DIVERSITY!

As head of Impact at Vebego, Roy Budjhawan is responsible for sustainability strategy and policy. On joining the facilities services provider two years ago, Roy was tasked with developing a new impact strategy centring around fair employment and economic growth with targets for horizontal and vertical diversity and inclusion. Roy’s efforts to shape a diverse and inclusive workplace at Vebego are driven in part by his own experiences. Though often a point of interest, his cultural background also confronted him with some challenges. “I’ve hugely invested in D&I, not least because of my role as chair of InclusieNL. Besides focusing on D&I within Vegebo, we’ve also supported other organizations in Zuidas to assess their D&I policies and evaluate their workforce perceptions. Based on that, we’ve drawn up a number of recommendations to help employers get started down this road.”

With over eighty years in business, Vebego employs 40,000 people across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. Specialized in cleaning, landscaping, facility management and health services, the company has been driven by inclusive values from the start. “We believe in the power of differences”, Roy explains. “Our family-owned business should be a place where everyone is enabled to deploy their talents, regardless of ethnicity, age, ability or sex. To quote some figures: 75% of our workforce are women and bi-cultural. 11% of our employees are disadvantaged workers, and we aim to increase this share to 30% by 2030.If we look to the vertical diversity; 40% of our supervisory board and 35% of our executive board are women. And, we have agreed Key-Performance Indicators to reach these targets for the sub-top management as well. These objectives are part of our purpose. At the same time, we want to comply with EU regulations. In fact they are an explicit part of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive’s (CSRD) Social section (topics ‘Own workforce’, ‘Workers in value chain’ and ‘Affected communities’). Most companies in Zuidas will have to be compliant by 2025 at the latest.”

According to Roy, increasing workplace diversity has led to a growing realization that the issue is not just about underrepresentation but also, and more especially, about over-representation, and how these two groups are related. “More diversity won’t automatically make everyone feel comfortable and safe and able to spread their wings. Differences can also be abrasive and give rise to new conflicts and forms of exclusion. In the end, it all comes down to managing differences effectively, which starts with the culture of the organization. Investing in D&I is also

From 11 to 15 September 2023, Socialclub WTC Amsterdam is celebrating Back to Work Week with a varied programme of activities for everyone working in the WTC office complex. One you won’t want to miss is Vebego’s INCLUSIVITY 23, a compact session designed to inform, inspire and activate around the topic of inclusion, taking place in the WTC auditorium on 14 September. Want to attend? Send an email to Sven Bloem at: sven.bloem@vebego.nl or sign up at www.inclusivity23.nl.

vital from a business perspective as it can be the key to more innovation, increased flexibility and, ultimately, better financial performance.”

Partners wanted!

To reach the goal of 30% disadvantaged workers by 2030, Vebego is looking for partners, also in Zuidas. “This is a significant step employers can take towards the CSRD’s Social component. Vebego can support by taking care of all the back-office aspects, provide the fundamental knowledge and expertise around participation law and ensure a steady influx of people. Working with a large number of clients also facilitates exchange and expanded tasks or replacements, which is all organized through our B Corp-certified subsidiary.”

Vebego

WTC Tower 10 Strawinskylaan 375 1077 XX Amsterdam roy.budjhawan@vebego.com www.vebego.com