Fair working conditions in the supply chain

In some countries, labour conditions are not sufficiently safeguarded by legislation, or there is a lack of proper enforcement. As a result, social risks such as child labour may arise.

Concerns the social risks within the supply chain of Van Loon Group’s direct suppliers.

We take our responsibility seriously and are committed to minimising social risks within our supply chain. We ensure strict compliance with labour laws and use the Sedex platform to monitor working conditions at our direct suppliers.

Starting in 2026, we will include Sedex scores in our supplier evaluations. This enables us to promote responsible practices and prevent social risks to the greatest possible extent.

CEO

In April, we organized our first supplier day for non-meat suppliers. The goal was to involve them in Van Loon Group's strategy and actively engage them in our sustainability objectives. The day was a huge success, and the suppliers shared numerous ideas and plans that will help us further improve the sustainability of our supply chain.

After an extensive selection process, we selected Sedex at the end of 2024 as the platform for monitoring (among other things) social risks within the supply chain. The first group of suppliers has been selected to submit their data in 2025. This also applies to our temporary employment agencies, as good working and living conditions for temporary workers are important within this context.

We have established new and stricter selection criteria for temporary employment agencies and have started a process to reduce the number of agencies we work with. The goal is to improve quality and gain better insight into the social conditions of our temporary workers.

In 2025, we will begin onboarding our suppliers onto Sedex. The objective is to connect 80% of our key suppliers this year. This process will be gradually expanded to include the entire supply chain. Starting in 2026, we will incorporate Sedex scores as a criterion in our supplier evaluations. In doing so, we aim to actively promote a transparent and responsible supply chain.

The project to reduce the number of employment agencies and improve quality will be completed by mid-2025.

Finally, we will follow up on the ideas and proposals submitted by our suppliers during the 2024 Supplier Day.