At Lovink, we are aware of our impact on the climate. That is why we have been working for years on CO₂ reduction measures to lower our emissions. Examples include the use of green energy, a partly electric vehicle fleet, but also the enormous reduction we have achieved in our upstream and downstream value chain. You can read more about this under the pillar Sustainable value chain and development partners!

Although reducing our emissions is one of our four strategic CSR pillars and we have significant reduction plans, we have so far scored above the industry benchmark on the topic of sustainability. 

Lovink has also mapped its energy consumption. This provides additional insight into our impact, enabling us to better steer measures that, for example, reduce pressure on the overloaded Dutch energy grid. As with CO2 emissions, heating the buildings and energy for offices and production are the main consumers. At 67%, natural gas consumption accounts for the largest share of Lovink’s energy consumption, while grey electricity accounts for 27% of almost all other consumption.

Lovink is ambitious when it comes to ethical business operations. For years, we have aimed to be honest from within and to reflect that externally as well. That is why we go beyond the mandatory transparency regarding our figures. Lovink publishes its voluntarily audited annual financial statements each year, in which we provide insight into, among other things, our financial transparency, compliance with laws and regulations, and the audit performed by an independent auditor.

The CSR report you are reading now is an important element of our ethical, transparent business operations. Progress on this theme cannot be measured in the same way as CO2 emissions. But it can be measured by the trust you place in us.

The ambition for the Ethical, transparent business operations pillar is to be a frontrunner in this area. In addition to continuing the voluntary auditor’s report, we will ensure that the responsible approach to what Lovink does is embedded throughout the organisation. We do this by training our employees on our internal code of conduct. Important aspects of the code of conduct, such as integrity, respectful interaction, compliance with laws and regulations, and confidentiality, are covered in this training. This results in behavioural criteria such as communicating honestly, treating each other with respect and handling information carefully. The training is repeated annually.

The value chain is the process in which Lovink’s cable splices are processed from raw material into a splice and, after 50 years of use, are ultimately processed as waste or recycled. Like every company, Lovink has an impact on local communities, people and their living environment through the purchase of raw materials from suppliers and development partners, as well as through sales to its customers. That is why Lovink has been working for years to make its value chain more sustainable.

In 2023, Lovink started redesigning the housing of our largest product group: the LoviSil® M cable splices. In addition to various functional improvements, there was a strong focus on sustainability. For example, we achieved a material reduction of almost 50%. We also extensively investigated whether recycled plastic could be used without compromising product reliability. In 2024, we chose a supplier with proven expertise in manufacturing products from recycled material.

Together with our partner Timmerije, we calculated that this results in a CO₂ reduction of more than 90% per shell part in our upstream scope 3.

This saving is the result of the lighter product design, the raw material used, the proximity of the production location for the raw material, green production at our supplier and the method of transporting the product from our supplier to Lovink. For a set of our M85 outer shells, which in the previous situation had total CO₂ emissions of 19.6 kg CO₂ per set, the improved design resulted in a saving of 7.1 kg CO₂ per set. Efficient use of raw materials is becoming an increasingly relevant theme due to growing shortages and geopolitical developments that reduce security of supply. Through the value chain study, a recycled raw material was found with sufficient quality but with a significantly lower emission factor: 0.5 kg CO₂ per kg of raw material instead of 3.1 kg CO₂ per kg of raw material. Because this new raw material does not need to be incinerated, a theoretical additional 2 kg CO₂ per kg of raw material is avoided. However, this additional saving has not been included in our calculations. Converted to a set of outer shells, the saving achieved with the recycled material amounts to 6.6 kg CO₂.

Transport movements are often responsible for a significant share of companies’ scope 3 emissions, especially in the case of a manufacturing company such as Lovink. Based on the value chain study, an approach was identified to significantly reduce the number of kilometres travelled.

In addition to reducing emissions in the value chain, Lovink also contributes to a sustainable value chain in other ways. For example, a supplier code of conduct is used to encourage compliance with human rights and to prevent pollution as much as possible.

A sustainable value chain also concerns the downstream process: the quality of the products we supply. Lovink also ensures a sustainable value chain by supplying cable splices of the highest quality. Our cable splices are also used in renewable energy parks. The construction of a renewable energy park is a major project involving many collaborating parties. The selection criteria for components focus on long service life and failure-free performance. The quality of the connection of a solar panel or wind turbine must never be called into question. In this context, quality is therefore equal to sustainability.

Lovink knows better than anyone that our people are the key to our success, to sustainable growth for ourselves, for our customers and for the world. That is why it is important to Lovink that there is a high level of trust in each other on the work floor. HR specialist Kim already sees this reflected in the short lines of communication, mutual understanding and the fact that everyone is approachable, from colleagues to management. One of the account managers sees these good relationships throughout the organisation: “People are engaged and enthusiastic, whether you are walking through the production hall or discussing a business case with the management team, you can sense that open atmosphere everywhere.”

Collaboration is essential, as our resin production foreman also notes: “I can’t do anything alone; it really is about our team.” At Lovink, doors are open both literally and figuratively. Our people feel involved with Lovink, as our supply chain engineer also sees: “You notice among employees that they really care when something goes wrong; that is wonderful to see.”

Lovink has chosen to take this one step further. Within the strategic pillar ‘Growing together, engaged together’, we are working on the ambition to strengthen collaboration, stimulate vitality and increase local involvement. Through transparent communication and clear development opportunities, we ensure that everyone feels engaged, that we work together towards the same goal and that everyone knows how they can contribute.

Lovink is building an organisation in which colleagues work together effectively, while job satisfaction remains central. We will increase collaboration between departments through cross-departmental and cross-team projects and meetings. Knowledge sharing is also essential to Lovink: it helps us get to know each other and better understand each other’s work, which will lead to better collaboration. We facilitate knowledge sharing by sharing articles about projects on the intranet, organising joint lunch moments and holding knowledge sessions organised by the departments themselves.

We also get to know each other better at drinks, annual team-building events and a staff party with partners. Celebrating shared successes, such as new products and new contracts, only adds to this.