TKH and the Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, 193 countries committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. These goals form an action plan for a sustainable world without poverty. This action plan will gradually lead to change through new ways of co-operation and collective actions.

TKH recognises the relevance of the SDGs and the role that the business community must play in order to achieve results. We have made an inventory of those SDGs on which we have the greatest impact, so that we can contribute directly to this. To do this, we compared the SDGs with our business operations and core activities, and looked at our entire process of value creation. The starting point was the materiality matrix. We also discussed the results of the first analysis with our stakeholders.

We finally arrived at the following ‘high-impact’ SDGs.

SDG 7: Sustainable and affordable energy

In its daily operations, TKH continuously pays attention to reducing its energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. We have been working on reducing our energy consumption and CO₂ emissions for over 10 years and are responding to this by setting firm objectives. In addition, TKH develops technologies and solutions that contribute to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy, such as sustainable cable systems for wind farms and CO₂-neutral lighting systems.

SDG 8: decent jobs and economic growth

TKH strives to provide its employees with a safe and inspiring work environment. We offer employees training and education that enables them to operate effectively and to further develop skills. Good primary and secondary employment conditions are obvious. We also provide employment for people with a disadvantage on the labour market. We contribute to increased productivity that stimulates the economy in both our operations, and our activities and technological solutions.

SDG 9: Innovation and sustainable infrastructure

Our technologies and solutions make it possible to build a sustainable infrastructure that meets high safety requirements and efficiency. Examples include technologies for tunnel infrastructure and airfields, as well as digital infrastructure through our innovative fibre optic cable systems. TKH has identified innovation as a strategic priority for further growth. This SDG touches on the core business of TKH.

SDG 12: Sustainable consumption and production

TKH’s environmental policy aims at the continuous improvement of environmental performance, in which TKH has targets regarding waste reduction and recycling. All production companies are certified for the ISO 14001 environmental management system and work according to the LEAN principle to prevent waste. In the design phase, TKH selects its raw materials and other materials so that they do not have any adverse effects on the environment. TKH discusses sustainability with suppliers through its code of supply. TKH’s technologies and total solutions help our customers to act sustainably, through such things as our tire building systems and vision technology for inspection and quality control. In addition, our technological solutions help other companies to produce responsibly and efficiently. By doing this, we are contributing to a circular economy.

By linking the SDGs to our materiality matrix and material themes, objectives have already been formulated that also affect the SDGs and underlying targets. In this way, TKH guarantees that structural attention is paid to the most relevant SDGs. We will also emphasise the link between the material themes and the SDGs in our communication in order to draw attention to the SDGs.