• Forwarding & Shipping
  • Warehousing & Distribution
  • Breakbulk Terminals

Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2018

Preface

At Broekman Logistics, we see that the logistics industry plays an important role in making the world more accessible, smaller and more closely connected. We actively play our role in creating a sustainable and durable supply chain. By being innovative and creative, and by engaging stakeholders, we create sustainable supply chain solutions for complex logistics challenges. This, with the right attention for people, planet and profit.

Transparency in our efforts is where in our view corporate social responsibility starts. That is why we launch this year the first edition of our CSR Report, and have assessed all our 2018 activities in the Netherlands according to the internationally renowned Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard reference indicators.

For example, providing insight in the CO2 footprint of our activities, enables our clients to make deliberate sustainable choices. By offering a range of multimodal transport alternatives, and by actively engaging ourselves in this conversation, we put our clients in the driver’s seat to realize their sustainability goals.

This CSR report provides some great insights in some of the dialogues we have with both our employees, our suppliers as well as our clients. We encourage all our stakeholders to join us in this essential conversation.

Raymond Riemen (CEO) & Diederik Günther (CFO)

CSR according to Broekman Logistics

We believe that for a company to create sustainable value for its clients, it must take an integral triple-P approach; finding the right balance between the best for People, Planet and Profit. Our Corporate Social Responsibility report reflects this approach.

Logistics is a people’s business, hence People are our most valuable resource. By continuous development of our employees and by applying the highest safety norms, we ensure that are people are fully equipped to unburden the needs of our clients.

Businesses can only strive successfully if they are sustainable, balancing the right business mindset - Profit - whilst doing the business right; a healthy ambition for growth, according to the latest sustainable standards. This approach is exemplified in 2018 by the start of the construction of our state-of-the-art Venlo warehouse, as well as the long term relations with both our Customers and Suppliers, which he cherish.

For Planet, good corporate citizenship starts with providing the transparency on your own CO2 footprint; we believe we should place high sustainable standards for ourselves, in order to engage the conversation with our clients to mutually improve on all aspects.

Being a good corporate citizen also means having good local commitment; that’s why we are actively engaging in the Societies in which we operate; this report provides some fine examples.

For 2018 we have assessed all our activities in the Netherlands based on the GRI Standard references, and although the final GRI-table is fully integrated in this report, it can be requested in full detail. For 2019 it is our ambition to provide a global view, in line with the OECD guidelines, in order to create true Global Reach, with a Personal Touch.

People

Our most valuable resource

In 2017, our latest annual social report has been published, which is available upon request. This report demonstrates the experiences through the eyes of our employees, working in both an operational as well as a corporate environment. This year, we have chosen to integrate our employees (People) alongside the environmental (Planet) and economic (Profit) aspects of this CSR report. 

People are at the heart of Broekman Logistics.


Employees are the most important asset of Broekman Logistics. Without them in place, we would not have achieved today's success and position in the market, fulfilling the needs and wants of our customers. In the Netherlands, 514 people are employed of which 73% works in the operational field (divided over two operational divisions): the Breakbulk Terminals division amounts for 32% and the Warehousing & Distribution division represents 41% of the total workforce.

 
 

The majority of our employees consists of men (81%). The distribution of employed men and women is reflected in the Breakbulk Terminals and Warehousing & Distribution division. In the Corporate and Forwarding & Shipping division, the distribution of gender is relatively positive compared to the other two divisions. Additionally, 85% of the workforce has a full-time contract (FTEs). 

 

At Broekman Logistics, we secure a safe and healthy working environment and address the importance of personal development. We support people who have difficulties to find their way in the labour market and organise several initiatives for our employees as well as for the local communities and society as a whole.  An example is the "Meet the CEO": a meeting organised every six weeks by our CEO, Raymond Riemen, at different locations throughout the Netherlands. He informs employees about the developments within the organisation and encourage employees to ask substantive questions in an informal setting.

Total
total: 514

Corporate
total: 58
Warehousing & Distribution
total: 221*
*not included 68 temporary workers
Forwarding & Shipping
total: 82
Breakbulk Terminals
total: 163

Distribution of Age and Flow of Personnel

The belowmentioned distribution of age in the workforce is represented per division. The bar charts show that both adolescents as well as elders are employed at Broekman Logistics, especially when considering the Warehousing & Distribution division. The employees aged between 30 and 40 years represented the largest group within the workforce, followed by the employees aged between 20-30.

The workforce has increased with 8% in 2018 compared to 2017. The growth has accelerated with 10% in both the Forwarding & Shipping division and Warehousing & Distribution division.

Distribution of Age among Personnel in 2018
Total
Corporate
Forwarding & Shipping
Warehousing & Distribution
Breakbulk Terminals

Working at Broekman Logistics

Broekman Logistics demonstrates good employment practices which are considered as a prime focus within our organisation. We offer competitive remuneration, which means that we ensure our employees to earn a salary that complies with the demands of the logistics sector. Furthermore, we incorporate a collective pension provision and apply the principle of an equal pay policy for all individuals in the workplace. We stand for equal pay between men and women as well as between natives and immigrants working within our organisation. We also have agreements on how we work together in our Code of Conduct.

We invest in sustainable employment as well as in personal development of our employees. We help graduates to enter the labour market by offering two-year Management Development Traineeships as well as young professionals by offering a Young Potential Program.

To engage, motivate and increase the expertise of our workforce, we offer several training courses organised by the Broekman Academy: Customer Relationship Management, Sales, Management skills, Financial Accounting for Non-financials and Microsoft Excel.

 

  • Performance & Development cycle 
  • Young Potential Program
  • Management Development Traineeship
  • Broekman Academy
  • Mandatory trainings on site, e.g. forklift certificate

4,2% Absenteeism due to illness

58 Interns

13 apprentices

  • Risk assessment and evaluation
  • Safety officer per location and health officer rotating on site
  • Daily toolbox meetings

11 Incidents

Health and Safety in the Workplace

Our employees are our most valuable capital. Safety is therefore of high importance. In this way we try to minimize absence by sickness (4.2%) and the number of registered accidents (11). We follow through on this by daily toolbox meetings at the operational locations and a Health and Safety officer at all locations, responsible for the Risk Inventory & Evaluation (RI&E). We also have emergency response officers and our company physician can be consulted preventively or curatively on a weekly basis.

 

...with a Personal Touch

Pim Francke identifies and seizes opportunities and as a high performer was quickly promoted to warehouse manager of Broekman Logistics Europoort

Pim recently joined the company’s one-year Young Potential Program. “We get together once every two months to analyse, discuss and present real-life business cases. You receive professional training and coaching and have the opportunity to learn from your peers, as well as from colleagues in other divisions and departments, and you get to design your own personal development plan. It certainly gives you lots of opportunities for growth.”

Plenty of opportunities at Broekman

His first job was at the Broekman Breakbulk Terminal (Distriport). “But I soon transferred to Broekman Logistics Breda (currently Tilburg), where we’re involved in Warehousing and Distribution. When I transferred again after seven months, to Warehousing & Distribution in Europoort, things really began to take off. Even though I hadn’t even completed my traineeship yet, I was offered a management position right away. If Broekman has confidence in you, things tend to go pretty fast! Given my young age, it’s great that the company has placed such trust in me: it’s a unique opportunity to learn a lot in a short space of time. I can tell you that there’s no better training than on-the-job training.”

Read the full interview with Pim here.

...with a Personal Touch

Kelly de Laat notes that major clients, in particular, expect their logistics service provider to be seriously committed to the environment

Kelly is in her role as Sales Representative in the International Freight Forwarding department responsible for new business development. For at least the past two years, she has found that a growing number of clients of all sizes are seeking out logistics partners that have expressed their commitment to people and the environment.

‘Greener’ operations: necessary and possible

“The logistics industry may be routinely portrayed as highly polluting and environmentally unfriendly, but here at Broekman Logistics we have been exploring for many years how we can reduce our carbon footprint while maintaining – or possibly even improving – our performance. It forces us to think and be creative, and our organisation has indeed made a lot of progress over the past several years.”

Finding environmentally friendly alternatives

Kelly makes a point of raising various issues with customers whenever she gets a chance, and also suggests more environmentally friendly alternatives. “If something needs to get there fast, there’s no point in sending a ship to the other side of the world, but if there are no time constraints there are all kinds of creative solutions. I also always make sure to check if freight can be loaded onto a barge or train instead of using lorries.

“If we as organisation can add more value to the logistics chain while at the same time reducing its carbon footprint, we know we’re on the right track.”

Read the full interview with Kelly here.

...with a Personal Touch

Nick de Jonge monitors the environmental KPIs for the ISO14001-certified Broekman Distriport

Nick joined Broekman as a temporary worker back in 2006, working on the company’s All-Weather Terminal. Having signed a temp-to-perm contract, he would be hired by the company if it turned out to be a good fit. As it happened, Nick has remained with Broekman ever since. He is currently a Shift Leader at Broekman Distriport, which is ISO-14001-certified.

He and his three fellow Shift Leaders regularly conduct QHSE (quality, health, safety and environment) inspections and ensure that waste is segregated based on a set of very strict rules. “We’ve been working on this for quite some time, but you’ll see that we’re raising the bar a little higher each time. We are constantly redefining the environmental KPIs and are proud to say that we ace every ISO audit every single time.”

Certificate for saving 100 tonnes of carbon

Those on the operational end of things also check continuously if they can find more environmentally friendly ways of organising things. “One improvement we’ve made is switching over to eco-efficient reach stackers. We recently received a certificate from Kalmar to help us save 100 tonnes of carbon. We also invested in an innovative Kalmar Insight system that allows our technicians to keep close track of the status of all reach stackers. In addition to improving the versatility of our assets, we are also reducing our carbon footprint, so it’s a two-for-one deal.”

Read the full interview with Nick here.

 

...with a Personal Touch

In her final year of college, Sarah Blok helped develop the first-ever sustainability baseline measurement and the annual CSR report

Sarah began her final-year internship at Broekman in the Marketing department in February 2019. “I studied International Business & Management Studies at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.” She speaks in the past tense, since at the time of the interview Sarah was fresh off her graduation, having just earned her degree a day ago. Sustainability, the circular economy and Corporate Social Responsibility were all key areas of focus during her studies. “In college it was all just theory, but here I’ve been given the opportunity to engage with these issues in a way that really makes an impact.”

Educational final-year internship

“I’ve been given a lot of freedom and responsibility right from the start, and got to exchange ideas with an external CSR consultant and a compliance manager from De Duurzame Adviseurs, a sustainability consultancy. Some of the work was done by email and phone, but I also travelled around the country, all the way to Born. Even though the people who work on the terminals and in the warehouses are busy, everyone made themselves available to me and they enjoyed sharing their input. I noticed that people are genuinely engaged with the subject and recognise its importance. I never felt like ‘just’ an intern: right from the outset I was taken seriously, like a true Young Professional.”

Read the full interview with Sarah here.

Profit

Global reach with a personal touch

As a full logistics service provider we take care of everything that comes with global transportation, ranging from raw materials to finished goods. We always aim to shorten value chains and continuously unburden our customers in terms of transportation and the flow of documents. To this means, we apply international recognized standards: ISO 14001 / ISO 9001 / AEO / FONASBA / IATA / ISPS / SQAS and SKAL.

Our services consist of:

  • Forwarding & Shipping: providing freight forwarding services including transportation over 10 liner services for worldwide ocean transport as well as value added services such as organising the flow of documents (customs/VAT);
  • Warehousing & Distribution: carrying out inbound & outbound distribution, import and export as well as value added logistics such as packaging, labelling and assembling of products;
  • Breakbulk Terminals: handling, storage and packaging of breakbulk cargo as well as providing solutions in markets that require complex logistics. For instance, parts of wind turbines.

2018 in a nutshell

Investing in a sustainable future

We strive to be an unique and outstanding business partner for all our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, that is able to offer solutions to the complex logistical challenges of our clients.

Business wise, 2018 was for Broekman Logistics a successfull year where we realized a sustainable growth reaching the 200 million euro turnover milestone with a significant increase in bottom line results.

In the course of 2018, we celebrated various other successes and made some major investments:

In 2018, we have also organised the first edition of the 'Broekman Business Bites', an event in which we invited our clients to see logistics in the Port of Rotterdam with their own eyes; providing awareness how our clients' business impacts the entire supply chain and to discuss how to mutally make the chain more efficienty, by optimizing our shared processes.

2018 was an eventful year: personnel safety and energy efficiency stand out in our new buildings.

Our Stakeholders

Sustainable collaborations in the chain

Broekman Logistics collaborates with stakeholders in the marketplace as well as the community to ensure a responsible and more importantly a sustainable business. We have a wide variety of stakeholders ranging from our employees to customers to government institutions. Strong relationships with our suppliers are essential in order to create sustainable value. Engagement is key in relationships with stakeholders and therefore we organise well established and comprehensive processes to stay focused and understand exactly what is needed within the relationship.

Our Customers

Creating true sustainable relationships: Riwal

Riwal, a customer of our International Freight Forwarding (IFF) department, uses our logistics forwarding services to transport Aerial Work Platforms, telescopic handlers and forklifts. 

Similarly to Broekman Logistics, Riwal applies the Triple Bottom Line (TBL): People, Planet and Profit in their CSR policy. Health, safety and personal development of employees, reduction of the ecological footprint to a minimum and continuously guaranteeing sustainable products and services are key components of Riwal’s CSR policy – “We believe that operating in line with a recognized CSR policy adds value to not only the customers but also to the organisation itself.”

“We expect Broekman Logistics to offer sustainable logistics services in terms of multimodal transportation by barge or rail whilst reducing the negative impact on the environment.”

Broekman Logistics offers multimodal transportation modes to reduce CO2 emissions and is willing to contribute and partner together with Riwal to do not only good for the environment, but also to create a more sustainable relationship. 

- Wim van Meer, Group SHEQ Manager at Riwal Holding Group

Our Suppliers

Creating true sustainable relationships: Kalmar

Kalmar, supplier of 15 Kalmar Forklift Trucks, is a flexible and important stakeholder who helps our organisation grow and supports operations at the terminal by offering full operational lease including service, maintenance and parts of the reachstackers. The reliability of our reachstacker fleet is very important and Kalmar Care Service and Kalmar Insight helps to continuously optimize operational productivity at the terminal.

“The collaboration between Kalmar and Broekman Logistics has resulted in up to 23% lower fuel consumption per operational hour by transiting to the Kalmar Eco Reachstackers and use of Kalmar Insight at Broekman DistriPort. Together we aim for a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 and in the long-term electrify Broekman Logistics complete fleet.”

Kalmar has inspired Broekman Logistics to move our operations to the next eco-efficient level and helps to reach environmental targets.

- Mette Kjems Baerentzen, Portfolio Manager Kalmar

 

Our Suppliers

Creating true sustainable relationships: MotracLinde

MotracLinde is an important stakeholder of Broekman Logistics, providing Linde E-Trucks to our warehouses located in the Netherlands. The E-Trucks produce less CO2, consume fewer electricity and ensure safety of our employees when handling materials in the warehouses.

“MotracLinde supplies 130 electric forklifts to Broekman Logistics and rationalises efficient logistical use of the warehouses.” 

Reducing negative impacts as well as offering sustainable and profitable solutions to customers as Broekman Logistics are key components of CSR within MotracLinde.

“MotracLinde experiences changes within the market; the need for more flexibility among customers as well as economic openness towards society. A sustainable relationship is key to improve environmental, social and economic performance by sharing knowledge and visions in terms of CSR.”

Both MotracLinde and Broekman Logistics emphasize the importance of sustainable development, being open to new technologies and product innovations in the field of warehouse and material handling optimisation. Safety and eco-friendliness are the two most important shared values within the sustainable relationship.

– Michael van Es, Key Account Manager at MotracLinde

Planet

Energy & Climate

Our impact on the environment can be divided into, on the one hand, business operations and on the other hand, the business operations of our (logistics, personnel or product) suppliers on the other.

Our circle of influence mainly affects our own operations. We hold both, and operate under, an environmental- and energy policy, which are evaluated annually during the (international recognized standards) ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 audits.

An Energy Efficiency Audit was drawn up in 2016 with 2015 as reference year, which resulted in an energy-saving action plan a period of 4 years (2015-2019). Many of these measures have been implemented since:

  • Extensive Power Quality saving system at two sites;
  • Energy monitoring system at all business unit locations that apply a EAN connection (large energy demand);
  • One so-called energy officer per location;
  • Partial implementation of transition to LED lighting; and
  • Transition to electric rolling assets such as forklifts and reachstackers that produce less CO2.

And many more: HR department uses digital paychecks to reduce the amount of consumed paper and at the ISO certified locations we set targets to reduce the amount of residual waste, consumed electricity, gas and water or to find reusable resources. 

 

CO₂ footprint scope 1 and 2 (tons CO₂)

When drawing up the CO₂ footprint, the classification of scope 1 and 2 as determined by the Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO) was used. The total footprint of Broekman Logistics (Netherlands) is 8,245 tons of CO₂.

The Warehousing & Distribution and the Breakbulk Terminals divisions together produce the largest number of CO₂, which means that the two divisions are the largest contributors to the total footprint. This is in line with the facts that these divisions have the largest sites in terms of m2 and use machines that consume a high level of of energy such as cranes and rolling assets.

 

Scope 1 and 2 (tons CO₂)
total: 8.245

CO₂ footprint

Considering our total CO₂ footprint, we notice that electricity and operating assets form the main causes of our negative CO₂ impact. The BreakBulk Terminals division represents similar percentages.

The Corporate division as well as the Forwarding & Shipping division are located in Broekman Logistics' headquarter which receives a Triple A (A+++) score considering energy. 

 

Total
total: 8.245

Corporate
total: 556
Forwarding & Shipping
total: 492
Warehousing & Distribution
total: 3.279
Breakbulk Terminals
total: 3.918

Savings on the road

Lease passenger car fleet

The largest contributors regarding consumption of fuel, considering Broekman Logistics'  CO₂ footprint, are the Corporate division (45%) and Forwarding & Shipping (19%) division. In 2018, the share of energy-efficient vehicles within the fleet was 74% (label A - 54% and label B - 18%). The choice for fuel-efficient lease vehicles has been encouraged earlier this year to further reduce CO₂ emissions from fuel consumption. A new mobility policy has been set up in 2018 and will be applied in 2019.  

Energy labels vehicle fleet
Operational assets

We have made considerable progress in the transition to sustainable (operational) assets. In fact, 87% of our light rolling vehicles is already electric. For our operational assets which need to handle heavier objects, Broekman Logistics is aiming to introduce electric or hydrogen-fuelled reachstackers with sufficient lifting power at all the terminals. It requires some patience before electric and hydrogen-power driven lifting equipment is introduced, which is able to lift the required capacity. Broekman Logistics is in active conversation with suppliers such as Kalmar, to speed up the innovation in this sector. Overall, 70% of our total lifting equipment fleet is electric.

Rolling lifting assets
CO₂ in the Logistics Chain

The largest CO₂ impact comes from our logistics chain of air, water, rail and road transport. As this concerns the operations of our suppliers, this pertains our circle of concern. We acknowledge our limited degree of influence, and take our responsibility in putting CO₂ savings on the agenda. Offering intermodal transport concepts is our service to facilitate our customers to minimize the negative impact on the enironment of their freight transport. It is for this reason that the trail of Broekman Logistics Europoort has been put back into use. After all:

  • A direct rail connection;
  • One train carries as many as approximately 56 trucks;
  • Transportation of 1 tonne of goods by train results in 80% CO₂ reduction, compared to 1 tonne of goods per by road.

In addition, we work with supplier assessments at the ISO certified locations: use of trucks with Euro 6 engines and/or being certified in CSR.

Society

Think Global act Local

Corporate Social Responsibility means that you not only take care of what happens inside your operational boundaries, but also taking care of the environment in which you operate. Broekman Logistics intensively collaborates with many different stakeholders in various fields:

  • We create employment opportunities in the (local) area and locally purchase different kinds of goods and services.
  • We are an approved apprenticeship organisation and partner with educational institutions, such as the STC-Group, which offers studies in the field of shipping, ports, transport, logistics and port-related oil and chemical activities. In 2018, we provided operational work placements to 13 apprentices, and 58 interns were provided an internship. 

Broekman Logistics supports cultural and sports initiatives that positively affect the logistics industry, for instance, by:

  • Contributing to the DeltaPort donation fund, which supports local initiatives within the area of Rotterdam;
  • Actively support local sports events such as the Harbour Run and organising the Young Broekman Bootcamp for employees;
  • Contributing to the local Sailer's house in Eemshaven;
  • Being actively associated with the World Harbour Days organised in Rotterdam;
  • Joining partnerships with various organisations that are associated with the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Limburg.

Port of Rotterdam

Transition towards a CO₂ neutral port in 2050
The Port of Rotterdam (PoR) is one of Broekman Logisitcs' most important stakeholders. We believe that it is of high importance to share knowledge, our visions and expectations regardings sustainability in the organisations as well as in the chain.
The Port of Rotterdam creates social value by adressing a safe and healthy environment, leading the energy transition and social responsible employment not only in the port but also in the chain. Broekman Logistics similarly supports this strategy. Four levels are taken into account when calculating impact: operations, projects, port and chain. 
“Taking responsibility and showing integrity is key for Broekman Logistics when implementing CSR.”
The Port Authority has developed 7 programs with the aim of creating a port with an industrial landscape that has no net negative consequences to the environment:
  1. Economy with biomass as a raw material;
  2. Large-scale transition to electrification;
  3. Alternative fuels;
  4. Energy efficiency;
  5. Energy infrastructure;
  6. Renewable energy; and 
  7. Circular economy;

“We can accelerate the energy transition in shipping by cooperating better throughout the chain.”

Both the Port of Rotterdam and Broekman Logistics are willing to think about sustainable solutions and remove barriers where possible. 
- Remco Neumann, Program Manager Corporate Social Responsibility at Port of Rotterdam 

Information about this CSR report

justification

Commitment GRI
This CSR report is based on the latest generation guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). These guidelines have been applied at the SRS referenced level. The report was reviewed by the organisation itself and and verified by De Duurzame Adviseurs B.V. as external party.

Scope of the report
This report concerns the activities of Broekman Logitics in the year 2018, for the Dutch sites that were under their control throughout the year 2018. During the reporting year, no significant changes took place regarding the structure or ownership of the organization. Regarding the size, there was an acquisition of VLS at the end of 2018 (Rotterdam-Pernis and Antwerp - out of scope in 2018) and a start was made on the construction of the logistics campus in Venlo (also out of scope in 2018).

Frequency
It is our intention to present a CSR report on annual frequency and to expand the scope to all global activities.

Contact
For questions about this report contact the project manager of the CSR project group within Broekman Logistics; Rutger Bonsel, General Manager Marketing.
 

Download the GRI Standard Reference Tabel