On an otherwise ordinary location in Kontich a few years ago, a remarkable piece of open space was transformed. Where there used to be an average little square, there now stands an ingenious 'soup bowl'. Hiding beneath the play area are gigantic plastic tubes that together form a buffer basin for no less than 840,000 liters of water. Not just any old project, but a reflection of our vision within Antea Group: to broaden our clients' horizons while successfully focusing on sustainability.

Sustainability as second nature

Our slogan says it all: we guide our customers to relevant solutions for an ever-changing world. Attention to sustainability - especially in recent years - can no longer be ignored in this context. That is why we always consciously choose projects that offer room to guide our clients toward a more sustainable, healthier and more inclusive living environment. “We always check whether, in addition to the client's wish list, a scenario for an even more sustainable solution is possible,” Jan Parys, CEO of Antea Group Belgium, told Voka. “We encourage our clients to think about that. The final choice is then up to them, although we do notice that in many sectors sustainability awareness is already sufficiently alive.”

Concrete actions with impact

The focus on sustainability translates into concrete actions within our walls. Since 2012, we have been recognized by BELSPO as a company with embedded innovation, which in most cases equals sustainability for us. We are also committed to concrete initiatives in various areas, such as the CO2 Performance Ladder or the Voka Charter for Sustainable Business. For the latter, our sustainability efforts were recently rewarded with a renewal of our certificate, for the seventh year in a row!

Through internal surveys, we regularly try to find out what our colleagues really value within our organization. For example, we have started an extensive participatory process to establish the Antea Group Foundation, with which we want to integrate social projects into our organization in a sustainable way. We recently polled our colleagues on themes that are important to them at our annual staff party. The next step? Putting real work into it.