March 28, 2023 – This week our Dutch e-commerce retailer, bol.com, announced it will help its sales partners become more sustainable by offering a network of advice and support parties.
By offering this support, it will help the 51,000 sales partners of bol.com to quickly find good help in mapping their CO2 footprint, reducing and compensating for emissions and making their range more sustainable. Since 2022, bol.com's own operations are climate neutral according to the Climate Neutral Certification standard, and with this next step, the company will also help partners to become more sustainable themselves. It is expected that hundreds of sales partners will make use of this network in the initial phase.
How the sustainability advice works
Through Apps & Services on the bol.com Partner Platform, bol.com has already put sales partners into contact with third parties who can support them in their growth. Among other things, these parties can help with the automation and optimization of pricing or provide strategic advice. For these services, bol.com has previously entered into partnerships with third parties, such as with Rabobank for applying for financing and with insurer Insify. Sustainability support has now also been added.
The advantage for the sales partner lies in bol.com's pre-selection of reliable parties and easier connection to the new network of advisory and support parties. Currently, The Terrace, Rainbow Collection, Vaayu, Returnless and GroenBalans are part of the network. These are parties that can help sales partners gain insight into emissions and can also provide concrete advice on how to make purchasing or manufacturing items more sustainable. In time, more parties and services will be added.
83% of sales partners want to make their business more sustainable
Boukje Taphoorn, Chief Marketing & Sustainability Officer at bol.com: “83% of our sales partners want to make their business more sustainable, but many of them don't know where to start. In addition to the steps we’re taking as a company, we are happy to help sales partners with their own sustainable development. For this we use the existing expertise in the market, sustainability is a major task that we have to do together.”
Leontine Gast, Director at The Terrace consultancy: 'There is a huge drive and need to make things more sustainable and we see that many entrepreneurs don't know where to start. What is expected of you? How do you set priorities, set goals, measure your impact and communicate about sustainability? These are complicated questions, especially when a business has their hands full with day-to-day matters. A trusted advisor who has extensive knowledge of sustainability can really make a difference. That's why it's so great that bol.com is now making it easier for their sales partners to find the right sparring partner.'
Creating a positive movement
Bol.com’s initiative is a good example of how Ahold Delhaize's brands are working towards a more sustainable retail system. Encouraging and supporting suppliers to set their own emissions-reduction targets in line with the latest scientific evidence is a key element of Ahold Delhaize's decarbonization efforts. We aim to play a leading role in this. We are proactively engaging with our brands’ supplier base and are using our position in the world as a food and e-commerce retailer to contribute to creating a positive movement towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
