In our sustainability journey, we are inspired by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These goals form the foundation of our policy and our activities. All SDGs are important and we have the ability to contribute to all these goals. At the same time, we are convinced that we will be more effective if we refine our focus. Therefore, we have adopted four SDGs where we can make a real difference:
SDG 4: Education quality
Education is extremely important if we want to work towards a developed, inclusive and healthy future. For CTOUCH, the educational environment is essential and therefore we actively and directly contribute to this SDG. However, even more important than our direct contribution to education today, is our indirect contribution to training the next generation of engineers, experts and sustainability enthusiasts. With this contribution to training people for the future, CTOUCH contributes to a better perspective for people and the environment in the future.
Some examples:
- CTOUCH collaborates with educational institutions (Fontys, Avans, TU/e) to offer (graduation) internships and projects to students.
- We run various innovative projects with education partners such as KIEN.
- CTOUCH management has a seat in the Advisory Board of Fontys Hogescholen ICT (FHICT) and functions as examination commissioner.
- We are partner of SPARC to build the bridge between business and education.
- We look ahead to the future of education and share our knowledge through white papers and blogs on digitalisation, trends, security and sustainability in education.
SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
We use renewable energy sources for our office and take an active role in the communities around us by contributing to community projects and taking a leading role when it comes to sustainability and development.
Some examples:
- In our partnership with ‘Together for Eindhoven’ we contribute to societal goals and projects in the municipality of Eindhoven in which our office is located. These projects serve to enhance sustainability in our direct environment and create awareness about relevant topics in order to motivate societal change.
- CTOUCH management has a seat in the Advisory board of CSR Risk Check.
- CTOUCH office is energy neutral. The solar panels installed on the roof generate more energy than is consumed.
- In partnership with Trees for All, we plant trees in the Netherlands to compensate CO2 emissions of our products in the user phase.
- CTOUCH takes responsibility for the (local) recycling of products, which is why we have a partnership with the OPEN Foundation.
SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption
With regards to responsible production and consumption, we actively take actions to operationalise sustainability in our supply chain, both in the development of current and new products, and in the use and end-of-life phases of our products already on the market.
Some examples:
- We carry out Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) to map the CO2 footprint of our products. This enables us to make sustainable choices for further product development and increase circularity.
- Through our Sustainability Passports we provide transparency and awareness of the used resources in our products. Every CTOUCH touchscreen comes with its own passport.
- We have set 15 sustainability requirements to ensure that all our strategic suppliers meet our standards in areas such as material use, circularity, recycling, repairability and renewable energy use.
- Our key suppliers have signed the Social Responsibility Employment Statement to ensure that slavery and child labour do not occur in any part of our supply chain, and that a safe and healthy working environment is guaranteed.
- As part of the front-runner network of MVO Nederland, we meet other companies that are motivated to reduce their CO2 footprint and share our knowledge on sustainability and CSR.
- We are running pilots to lower the CO2 impact of our screens in the packaging and transportation phase.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
The SDGs can only be realised with strong partnerships and cooperation. A successful development agenda requires inclusive partnerships — at the global, regional, national and local levels — built upon principles and values, and upon a shared vision and shared goals placing people and the planet at the centre.
Meet some of our sustainability partners:
