Building on character

Whether it's a sustainable residential building, an innovative office building, a state-of-the-art laboratory or a modern equipped distribution center, De Vries en Verburg's 190 passionate employees have been developing and building with an eye to the future for 35 years. "We believe that our choices today have a fundamental influence on the way we - and our children - will be able to live, work and play in the future," says Technical Director Evert Hogendoorn. "That is why we consciously choose sustainable and circular solutions and materials. Moreover, we invest structurally in people, knowledge and innovation."

For De Vries en Verburg, sustainability has several definitions. The term refers not only to projects, but also to long-term relationships with suppliers, subcontractors and employees. "As an organization, we operate in 12 market segments within the Stolwijk-Rotterdam-Den Haag-Amsterdam-Utrecht region," says Hogendoorn. "The polder mentality of this area is deeply woven into our DNA. Our people are passionate about the business and invariably put their best foot forward to bring projects to a successful conclusion. They really have something for each other. This translates into greater job satisfaction, quality and efficiency, as well as long service records and special family relationships. With six brothers and nine father-son relationships, caring for our next generations is a matter of course. We try to see and seize opportunities in all areas, with attention to the environment, employees and society. Our relations and construction partners have effectively summarized this in the key words 'reliable', 'committed' and 'driven'."

Double circular

"In our projects, we like to give used materials a second life," says Commercial Director Marco Dekker. "Moreover, we deal consciously with new materials so that they can also be given a new purpose after 50 years. In this way we contribute to waste-free construction as well as more efficient use of raw materials. These aspects are maximally reflected in the new office and laboratory building BioPartner Center 5 at the Leiden Bio Science Park, which is designed to be doubly circular. In this project, we not only used a donor steel construction, but also the old walls of the Court of Justice and numerous other recycled materials. In addition, we built in a demountable way, allowing for better recycling."

Social and knowledge innovation

The new building for BioPartner is an illustrative example of De Vries en Verburg's social and knowledge innovation, Hogendoorn emphasizes. "As a main contractor, we do not develop products ourselves. However, we do have an eye for the developments of our partners. In our projects we apply new techniques, products and processes wherever possible. We like to take a pioneering role in this. After all: the best example is yourself. That's why we installed 226 solar panels, high-quality blinds, sustainable LED lighting and a PCM ceiling during the renovation of our office. In addition, we have added windwheels, which also generate sufficient green energy in the spring and fall. Several clients have already expressed interest in this." Dekker: "A few years ago we changed our logo. We did not throw away our employees' old work clothes, but ground them up and gave them a second life as sound insulation for the walls in our canteen."

BREEAM as a starting point

De Vries en Verburg was the first partner to join Duurzaam Gebouwd. In addition, the contractor participates in various national and regional sustainability initiatives, such as Nederland CO2 Neutraal, Dutch Green Building Council and the CSR Performance Ladder. "We employ several BREEAM experts, as well as our own sustainability specialist. Each year we deliver about 4-5 BREEAM projects," says Hogendoorn. "A great example is the expansion of Nature's Pride's distribution center in Maasdijk, in which maximum attention was paid to environmentally conscious use of materials and energy reduction and which we were awarded on the basis of good past experience. But even if BREEAM is not a starting point, we work according to this methodology. Among other things, a clean construction site, separated waste streams and solar panels on the roof of our building chain raise awareness among everyone involved in the construction. Following the same ambition, we actively exchange knowledge and ideas with other construction companies and entrepreneurial suppliers."

De Vries en Verburg also places a high priority on internal knowledge sharing, Dekker emphasizes. "Both at project and organizational level, we challenge our employees to come up with ideas. This has now led to numerous new working methods and applications. For example, at the beginning of the corona pandemic, a construction site foreman made a double stair tower, so that ascending and descending construction site workers no longer have to pass each other. A super idea that we continue to use even after corona, because it improves efficiency as well as safety." Another contractor came up with the idea of making the edge formwork around the stairwell openings 100 cm high, so that separate fall protection is no longer needed, he says. "And a third colleague puts his wood waste outside the site every Friday afternoon, where local residents can pick it up for free. This saves us containers, while the neighborhood receives free brushwood. That, too, is sustainability, in our opinion."