Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility

The management of Wageningen Environmental Reseach and the Department of Environmental Sciences, part of Wageningen University & Research, takes its social responsibilities by implementing a policy focused on a balance between economic, ecological and social interests.

The organisation contributes to a high-quality and sustainable green living environment through carrying out fundamental and applied research and providing academic education. The quality of our research and education activities is our main priority, with consideration for the interests of people and the environment in their mutual relationships. Employees, students, clients and other interested parties can rest assured that aspects such as safety, health, welfare and the environment will be taken into account when policy choices are made. Communication, openness and fulfilling agreements are core concepts within the chosen approach.

CSR according to the guideline ISO 26000

By applying the international guideline on Social Responsibility, NEN-EN-ISO 26000 (in which the methodology of NPR 9026+C1:2012 is applied), the organisation wants to deal with its social responsibility (CSR) in a proper and verifiable way. The principles and themes described in the guideline are important starting points for the decision-making process within the organisation. Priorities for the coming period are active involvement of stakeholders, the role of the organisation in society and CSR aspects in the preparation of international project proposals.

To demonstrate that we take our social responsibility seriously, the ISO 26000 self-declaration is reviewed and placed on the publishing platform of the NEN (in Dutch).

Quality improvement

Throughout the organisation, work is being done to improve quality. The objective is to successfully round off reviews as a test of scientific quality. Spearheads represent the motivation to ensure that clients are satisfied and that research is of high quality. Wageningen Environmental Research employs a quality management system in line with the ISO standard 9001:2015.

Environmental performance

Devoting attention to the green living environment occupies a central position within the organisation. The aim is to achieve continual improvement in our environmental performance. An active environmental policy forms an integral part of our operations and business strategy. The organisation complies with all applicable environmental legislation and regulations, as well as with the environmental policy of Wageningen University & Research and relevant covenants. WENR works with an environmental management system in accordance with the NEN-EN ISO standard 14001:2015.

Health and safety

The organisation offers a good quality and safe working environment and wants to prevent any harm to the health of employees and other concerned parties. The policy focuses on protecting personnel from pressure that could have a negative impact on their performance.

The points of departure for the sustainability policy of WENR and DES are included in the Sustainability Statement signed in October 2017.