As our business is all about people, its nature and structure is also reflected in our cost base, the vast majority of which is comprised of the salaries we pay to the people working for our clients and our own corporate staff. The nature of our business means that we have much less impact on the environment than most other companies of our size. We endorse the growing trend of sustainability in the supply chain, and applaud those of our suppliers who help us to purchase more responsibly, such as Desso, who exclusively supply carpeting for our offices around the world. All our business is conducted in local markets, and we have many locations close to both clients and candidates, greatly reducing the need for travel and the resulting CO2 emissions.  Despite this structurally minimal impact, we do what we can to reduce it still further.

We participated in 2010 for the third time in the Carbon Disclosure Project, which serves both as an effective tool for self-assessment and as a benchmark for performance. Our scores, published on the project’s website at www.cdproject.net, reflect the significant efforts we have made to address environmental concerns.

We began using 100% green energy at our headquarters in 2009 through a procurement agreement with Greenchoice, a leading green energy supplier in the Netherlands, through which only energy wholly-generated through wind, water and solar power is supplied and used. This approach to energy supply is being investigated at the country level as well.

As an example of our impact on the environment we report on the resource usage and waste management at our headquarters, where all Dutch companies are located.

Electricity decreased despite more intensive use, thanks to the replacement of fluorescent lighting with high frequency tube adopters in 2009. The use of energy increased due to severe weather in January and December 2010; the overall annual temperature was considerably lower than the long-term average.