From strategy to visible results
Sustainability only becomes meaningful when ambitions are reflected in real-world action. In our new 2025 ESG Report, Blycolin highlights the steps we have taken to reduce CO₂ emissions, advance circularity, strengthen supply chain collaboration, and improve transparency. ESG Manager Nicolet Keetelaar explains how our strategy has been translated into tangible results, as well as the challenges and decisions that have shaped our journey.
From insight to informed decisions
The past year was defined by building insight. A great deal was invested in collecting, checking, and understanding data. “We could have formulated objectives faster, but not with the same level of certainty.” That approach has led to a stronger foundation. Not only numbers, but also a deeper understanding of processes and impact. This creates room to steer more purposefully and to better substantiate choices.
In addition, deliberate focus has been placed on three themes: CO2 reduction, supply chain collaboration, and material choices. “We looked at where we could make the most impact and placed our priority there.” Concrete steps are visible on these topics. CO2 emissions and water use are becoming more transparent and are demonstrably reduced, the share of more sustainable materials is growing, and choices are increasingly based on data rather than assumptions.
“We were already doing a lot. Now, we are making it visible.”
The greatest challenges: balancing sustainability, quality, and costs
Practice shows that sustainable choices are always part of a broader consideration. “Quality is our reason for existing. If that declines, we have to replace things sooner. Then, ultimately, you’re being less sustainable.” Measures such as reducing water use or making different material choices have a direct effect on performance, lifespan, and costs. At the same time, market prices are under pressure and not every customer is willing to make an extra investment. “On the one hand, you want to be very sustainable, but that means you have to invest.”
On top of that, the lifespan of new, more sustainable materials has not always been proven in practice yet. This calls for a phased approach, where we test, learn, and adjust before scaling up.
Dependent on the supply chain: collaboration sets the pace
A large part of the impact lies in the supply chain: with suppliers, laundries, and customers. “We cannot do this alone.” Over the past year, collaboration has intensified. Suppliers provide data more frequently, laundries offer more insight, and conversations are becoming more substantive. The meetings with partner laundries have played an important role in this. They have been actively included in the ESG ambitions and the data collection process. “Three years ago, sharing data with each other was not a given.” At the same time, dependency remains a challenge. Not all partners move at the same pace, which sometimes leads to reconsideration of collaborations.
Customers are also playing an increasingly larger role in this. They ask more targeted questions about impact, data, and material use and expect transparency. This requires better substantiation and clear choices.
When ESG truly comes to life
The change becomes visible when ESG becomes part of daily work. “When colleagues come up with ideas on their own, when they actively talk to customers and stakeholders themselves, it stops being just a little project.” That movement has now been set in motion. ESG is increasingly incorporated into decisions and processes within the organization.
Proud of the progress
The biggest step lies in the transition from ambition to implementation. “I’m especially proud that we took it from an ambition document to actual execution.” That process was intensive and demanded a lot from the organization. “It has taken a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, and perhaps some frustration and pressure.” At the same time, the results are visible. ESG is increasingly embedded in processes, decision-making, and collaboration, also across national borders. Collaboration between different countries and teams is becoming more intensive and consistent, resulting in an increasingly unified approach. “It is becoming increasingly self-evident.”
Where people once thought “this will never work out,” Nicolet now sees that ESG is increasingly becoming part of the way we work and of the shared value proposition. “What sustainability means is becoming clearer.”
What surprised you most?
The pace at which the outside world is changing. Customers, partners, and stakeholders ask increasingly specific questions and expect more transparency. New laws and regulations accelerate this development further. At the same time, it is becoming clear how complex it is to comply with everything immediately, for example when it comes to data collection in the supply chain and answering increasingly specific customer questions. “Expectations are evolving fast. That also requires that your organization grows along with it.”
Outlook: Focus on circularity and supply chain collaboration
In the coming years, the focus will shift toward circularity and further collaboration within the supply chain. Reusing textiles and closing loops play an important role in this, partly due to new laws and regulations. “We need to take that step. But we cannot do that alone.” In doing so, focus remains essential to maintain progress.
“You have to make choices, otherwise you make no impact anywhere.”
Nicolet Keetelaar, ESG Manager – Blycolin