GD Group is committed to animal health and we want to do so in a sustainable and socially responsible way. This is also mandatory according to the new European CSRD directive (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). GD Group is committed to understanding animal health and welfare for the benefit of society. 

In recent years, we have already been committed to sustainable business through various initiatives. For instance, we encourage employees to use bicycles for commuting, and we have installed solar panels and partly use biogas from local farmers to cover our energy needs in an environmentally friendly way. We consciously choose sustainable materials and energy-efficient installations to minimise our carbon footprint. This is how we aim to actively contribute to a more sustainable future."

Preliminary research is currently underway to determine what information is present or needs to be collected under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The CSRD is a new European directive that will take effect for GD on 1 January 2025 and is mandatory for larger companies. The ultimate goal of the CSRD is to increase the environmental, social and good governance transparency and performance of large companies in Europe. The information to be reported may vary from company to company; a double materiality analysis will eventually have to be carried out to properly identify which topics will or will not be discussed in the report. The double materiality analysis is an analysis that helps frame the relevant issues by looking at the impact of sustainability issues on the organisation and the potential impact of the organisation on people and the planet. 

GD Group spearheads

The CSRD report has three main themes: Environment, Social Affairs and Good Governance. Within these main themes, 12 standards have been determined with which a company can work. In turn, these standards involve a number of different issues. Take the main Environment theme, for example. One of the standards included is 'climate change'. This includes the issues of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, countering climate change, reduction path to zero emissions and adapting to climate change.

Key spearheads for the GD Group, divided among the three main themes, are as follows:

• Environment: energy consumption, waste (substances), pollution, substances of (very) high concern, material inflows including material consumption. 
• Social issues: work-life balance, training and development skills, health and safety. 
• Good governance: animal welfare, corporate culture, supplier relationship management

Approach 

There are several indicators attached to each spearhead. For each spearhead, consideration is given to whether the linked indicators are relevant to the GD Group. Our goal for the first version of the sustainability report is to define all those indicators which need to be covered. In addition, we already want to start measuring and completing certain numerical information. This can help formulate objectives and elaborate policies.