The Care and Profit Prize is awarded every two years to an enterprise that successfully combines economic progress and environmental responsibility, and consists of a raw diamond. The jury praised Paques not only for its dedication to profit and planet, but also for its policy on human resources and the way it organizes its stakeholders. To emphasize that Paques owes the award to its "opinionated and committed professionals", CEO Jeroen Mes yesterday treated all his employees to a symbolic present, "a sample of a stone, collected in Kenya in a sustainable way."
Paques is globally active in innovative, large-scale biotechnology. It has some 200 professionals working in the Netherlands and about 100 in its subsidiary in China, a country with huge ecological problems. In the Chinese city of Yixing, Paques is now building a biological installation to remove sulfur dioxide (SO2) from the emission of coal power plants, thus substantially reducing smog pollution. SO2 is the main source for acid rain. After washing out the SO2 of the flue gas, it is biologically converted to elemental sulfur, which can then be used for instance as a fertilizer.
CEO Jeroen Mes: "In my view CSR and innovation are completely intertwined. Ecology is our daily business, and to clean up the environment in a sustainable way, innovation is indispensable. Innovation is not a process that can be restricted by guidelines and budgets. You need room to experience, to be able to make mistakes. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you are successful."
The other nominees of the Care and Profit prize of this year were Unica Installatiegroep, the psycho geriatric hospital Bruggerbosch, the producer of ecological detergents Eco-Point International, the waste and recycling company Van Gansewinkel, and AgroFair Europe, importer of tropical Fairtrade fruit.

P+ Webtip: Paques