cortina

We are social!

Sustainability & social responsibility

At Cortina, we are very aware of the daily impact we have on people and our planet. We recognize our corporate social responsibilities and embed several sustainability principles across our business.

environment

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Mattias Vanderschueren - Chairman

sustainability

Sustainability

Together we can take the necessary steps towards a safer planet.

At Cortina, we do this by being resource-efficient, respecting the environment, and taking initiatives such as:

  • The development of sustainable collections for each of our brands
  • The use of certified recycled, eco-friendly, and vegan materials
  • The support of other green initiatives, such as WeForest – an organization that combats global warming by planting trees in the Atlantic Forest.
social responsibility

Social responsibility

People are at the very core of Cortina. As a family business, we deeply care about society and well-being and find it necessary to support social projects.

For more than 20 years, founder Dirk Vanderschueren and his wife Nicole Parmentier are personally involved in national and international social projects, especially targeted at children and young adults.

3,5 million euros have been assigned, for instance:

  • Food, shoes and textiles for vulnerable people
  • Appropriate equipment and material for disabled people
  • Sports outfits for underprivileged children
  • New buildings, furniture for classrooms, ecological playing areas, sanitary room improvements, bicycles, books…
  • ICT and didactic material for schools
  • Summer camps for orphans
  • Housing Kokoon VZW in Drongen for people with physical disabilities
  • Making a part of our offices and storage spaces available for VZW Kansarmen, an organization taking careof underprivileged people

Financial support for foreign social projects:

  • Natural disasters in Africa, Philippines, Ecuador, Pakistan, China, Nepal, India, Peru, …
  • Farms in India
  • Medical equipment in Israel
  • Vaccination program in India
  • Orphanages in China and Nigeria

Ondernemers voor ondernemers (OVO) supports initiatives that contribute to sustainable business operations and has a few essential conditions:

  • The project must be ecologically and socially sustainable
  • It must directly (and permanently) benefit the local population
  • The project must become self-sustainable in the medium term

Together with OVO, Cortina sponsors Training and Education programs in Vietnam, China, India, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. Also, shoes and textiles are provided.

Mental health support

As of 2014, Cortina started supporting programs for mentally vulnerable children and young people.

psychosenet
Pyschosenet

Psychosenet is an easily accessible online platform with clear and objective information about psychosis (www.psychosenet.be). The website is compiled by professionals, experts by experience and patients. Since 2014, Cortina guarantees the maintenance of the website and makes funds available to enable full operation in the Netherlands and Belgium.

readers collective
Readers' collective

Het Lezerscollectief offers free and shared reading sessions for all kinds of vulnerable people and social and medical organizations (www.lezerscollectief.be). Cortina finances the reading books and offers free training programs for volunteers.

Some of the important commitments we have made:

Social

  • To promote equality in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and culture.
  • To respect the rights of our employees and their personal and career development.
  • To safeguard the wellbeing and quality of life of all our people at work.

Environmental

  • To reduce the carbon footprint of our employees’ travel and our vehicle fleet.
  • To promote responsible and sustainable procurement practices.
  • To conserve energy, water and material resources consumed in the conduct of our business.

Economical

  • To promote the sustainable growth of our own business and those of our clients.
  • To ensure there is zero tolerance for corruption within our organization and to require a similar commitment from our supply chain.
  • To embed sustainability principles in the business improvement solutions we develop and provide for our clients.