Introducing our colleague, Winfried. As Facility Manager, he and his team ensure that our buildings are used and heated as sustainably as possible. For instance, our electricity is generated by solar panels on our roof. Our rubbish is sorted. There are charging stations all around our site for charging our electric cars. And hour cups are filled with fair-trade coffee and then subsequently recycled. And while that’s already quite something, there is more to the story.

Winfried also ensures a positive impact in the Goirle community where HAVEP has its head office. By connecting underground pipes, for example, to the wood stove that keeps our building beautifully warm in winter, he made sure residents of the retirement home next door can also enjoy the same sustainable heating as our employees! Because the wood chips we use come from sustainable forestry – from our own forest no less. And that deserves a positive thumbs-up from all of us!

Whenever we want to take the recycling of used textiles to a higher level, we go knocking on Gerrit’s door. Gerrit is a true pioneer when it comes to recycling fabric. And as a genuine textile fanatic, he is a member of the Smart Functional Materials research centre where he manages several research projects.

Based at the SaXion College, he works together with a number of colleagues to develop innovative and enhanced methods for recycling textiles. Their aim is to be able to fully recycle all used clothing into new clothing. Together with Gerrit, we are well on the way to realising this dream on an industrial scale. And it’s all thanks to the fantastic work Gerrit and his colleagues do every day!

Martin is a real winner and when it comes to textiles, there is no challenge he won’t accept. His past life as a professional cyclist and his current-day passion for textiles has made him one of the most driven entrepreneurs we know. He leaves no stone unturned, no door unopened in searching for the best solution for every problem. And it is in the same spirit that Martin founded the REMOkey label. This quality label aims at making every step of the textile chain transparent. In order to carry the REMOkey label, the fabric has to contain a certain amount of recycled textiles. Something we are only too happy to promote. Because just like Martin, we believe that reusing and recycling is the key to a positive future.

As a nine-year-old Felix summed up his vision in a school lecture: "Let's plant one million trees in every country on earth!". Together with other children, he founded Plant-for-the-Planet in 2007. Since then, more than 13 billion trees have been planted worldwide by children, adolescents and adults, more than 3 million of them on the foundation's own plantation area on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. At the age of 13, Felix spoke to the UN calling for the planting of 1,000 billion trees - and thus binding 25% of man-made CO2 emissions. He encourages children and adults alike to take the future into their own hands.