DESSO Moves to Rabobank
18 March 2008
One of Europe's top carpet manufacturers, DESSO is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to socially responsible business. The company is moving its global banking to Netherlands-based Rabobank (www.rabobank.com), an international leader in ethical finance.
Rabobank is rated as the most sustainable bank in Europe. As a cooperative it is not held to account solely on the basis of share value. Instead, it aims to integrate CSR into all its activities and consider the consequences of its investments for the environment. This ethos matches DESSO's eco-friendly ethics and efforts to reduce energy consumption, waste and pollution.
Tom Francken, chief financial officer at DESSO, says: "At DESSO, we never stop searching for ways to put sustainability at the core of our work. Rabobank's policy of investing in technologies that compensate climate change complements our other activities to contribute to a cleaner
world, and that also includes our financial activities."
To cut its carbon footprint, DESSO has long been working to offset emissions, source sustainable raw materials and develop long-life and low maintenance products. Every DESSO carpet and carpet tile is individually numbered and tested for contamination and emissions and, to ease the landfill burden, waste recycling from its factories already exceeds 90%. In 2008 the company is moving to green energy in all its plants.
