Sustainability at the SVB
As a public organisation, we believe that our responsibility goes beyond implementing social insurance schemes and legislation. We also look at the world around us. We try to make sure that what we do has the least possible impact on the environment. But we also take into account the needs of people who need extra attention or who have difficulties accessing the labour market.
We want to operate sustainably. This means that we aim to keep the environmental impact of our operations to a minimum. All SVB offices have EU energy label B or higher. And any office equipment or building parts that need replacing are replaced sustainably.
We are committed to providing job opportunities for people who are distanced from the labour market. This is called ‘social return’. We ask suppliers to dedicate at least 5% of the value of their contract with the SVB to social return. Our aim is to give people the chance to get practical work experience or even rejoin the labour market.
Wherever possible, we work with businesses in the social sector. For example, by getting specialists with autism to check new texts for our website. Together, we can create a society in which everyone can play their part.
We have signed up to the Amsterdam Language Agreement. This is an agreement between a number of organisations to find ways to help people who have trouble reading, writing, or understanding numbers.
This has been a priority for the SVB for some time. We make sure that our website is fully accessible for people with language difficulties. Visitors to our website can have the texts read out, and written communication will contain more images. We also increasingly work together with other organisations to provide a more personal service.