25+ years of experience
Doing business today is no longer possible without observing the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles when taking and implementing decisions. Henk van der Meij, director of Tyro Remotes, thinks the same as well. All decisions are taken by keeping in mind the well-being of the employees, the impact of our own activities on the society and the environment. Organizations are increasingly expected to think through and even implement CSR and this goes a step further than just following the legal obligations. In an interview with Henk van der Meij, we delve deeper into the meaning of CSR entrepreneurship for Tyro Remotes. What is the added value of CSR? and what drives Tyro remotes?
According to Henk, sustainability plays a major role in both business and private life.
“It is not that as a person you make little difference in the big picture. With only your attitude and input you also influence other people and ultimately it is also about the mindset of the large group. These days themes such as waste separation and reducing energy costs are also observed at home. In addition, we have started to eat differently, we cosume less meat and we try to buy much more locally produced food ”.
According to Henk, every company should be working on CSR. This already starts internally with the development of a pleasant environment for employees to work in.
“In terms of production, we already work in a very clean and preferably low-dust production environment. This has also been implemented to the offices where we have a clean desk policy. We do not work with heavy and / or polluting machines and always work in a clean and healthy environment.
As it is already organized so well in the base, honestly, there is not a lot that we can do more. Nevertheless, you have to keep working on it, not only because the outside world pays attention but because employees are more alert and conscious of it. ”
In addition to the CSR topic “people”, there are many more issues that CSR entrepreneurs should pay attention to. Henk explains what matters to Tyro Remotes and where, according to him, the real added value lies.
“Corporate social responsibility is a must in my view. In the long term, it is a must that every company is closely involved with the CSR within the company. From operational to strategic management, the CSR will have to be propagated, it is / will be the only correct way of business management. It creates value on an economic, social and ecological level: the 3 Ps, profit, people and planet.
You do not always consciously choose which issue gets the focus, it is partly automatically decided by what comes your way. In addition, you yourself are also getting better and more aware of the importance of all CSR topics. If I have to mention the most important CSR topics for Tyro Remotes, they are the following:
- Do everything once and do it well, our flow is also designed for this.
- Develop products with a lifespan of at least 10 years or longer.
- Doing international Business.
- Provide a pleasant working environment.
- Repair of products is not part of the revenue model and we prefer not to repair products. As a result, we produce more robust products and we have minimal transport costs.
- We ensure to have a minimal footprint on the planet in everything we do.
Practice shows that it is not easy to do business responsibly. Many organizations get stuck in the early stages of CSR and activities are not very structured. Incorporating CSR into every fiber of the company is never without resistance. Henk has noticed that if you keep focus, you will eventually get everyone on board. Especially when employees also see that it is bearing fruit.
“I think focus is the most important thing to be successful in the field of CSR. It’s the policy that matters. Within a company, employees want to work on projects that contribute to their personal growth but also to something that is bigger than themselves. They would like to have a job that allows them to have a positive impact on the environment.
We continuously look at things differently and have a “just do it” mentality. It is normal within our company that in the development of new products and product lines objectives are set in the field of limited energy use, minimal use of raw materials, etc. This, as well as the standard way of working and leading the way in waste separation, hygiene, etc., ensures that motivation is not a big issue. ”
Corporate social responsibility continues to develop, and that requires continuous efforts from every organization. In recent years, Tyro Remotes has already undergone some changes towards CSR, but according to Henk they are not there yet.
“I am very satisfied with the fact that we are all in working in a beautiful building with good workplaces with very good attention to insulation and energy consumption. The entire building is equipped with LED lighting at daylight level. Very pleasant, low in energy, you get tired less quickly and it is good for concentration. An energy scan recently concluded that there is almost nothing we can do about further savings. There is still a task and an objective in the field of sustainable energy generation.
In the future, we will focus on energy generation by solar panels and / or a heat pump. However, due to the high costs and obstacles, such as additional insurance requirements, these kinds of decisions can not be made overnight. We not only want to develop Tyro Remotes into a climate neutral, circular and socially involved company, but also focus every effort and investment we make on a social and sustainable society. Why? Because it should be. How? By just doing it and being open to new insights.