Strategy
Our Purpose and Mission
Creating a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain, together
Our mission is to create value for customers, shareholders, employees, and society by developing product and process innovations and raising awareness of the need for sustainable solutions in the entire leather value chain. We aim to cooperate with all the stakeholders, from research centers to competitors and beyond, in the leather value chain and share knowledge and innovations to get more sustainable solutions for the manufacturing of leather. By working together towards the same goal, we aim to improve the leather industry as a whole and to keep Royal Smit & Zoon relevant and on top of the market.
For our customers, this means they can always rely on our safe, efficient, and sustainable solutions. Our shareholders are given continuity, profit, and further growth, leading to a strong sense of pride in our achievements. Royal Smit & Zoon’s employees are always part of our family; through our employability programs, they remain competent, involved, and engaged. Our mission helps society by not only offering leather as a sustainable source for all kinds of products but also by taking care of our planet and of the next generations of people that will be living here.
Our Philosophy
Towards the future of leather
As a 7th -generation family business we are deeply committed to sustainable development, recognizing it as a crucial journey toward securing a prosperous and responsible future for generations to come. By focusing on sustainable tanning solutions and constantly innovating in our laboratories, we not only meet current industry standards but also set new benchmarks for quality, safety, and eco-friendliness.
Our dedication to continuous improvement is evident in our commitment to research and development, involving highly qualified chemists, product developers, and leather technicians. This approach not only reflects our commitment to continuously enhance product quality but also demonstrates our readiness to adapt to evolving environmental concerns and technological advancements.
Beyond our focus on product development, we actively support the sustainability goals of our customers, fostering collaborative relationships. By aligning ourselves with their sustainability objectives, we do not only strengthen our partnerships but also ensure a shared vision for a sustainable future. We believe that their future success is tied to our own, emphasizing our collective sustainability journey.
Our 2025 Strategy
Innovation and family values as the Guiding Principles in our purpose-driven leadership
The heart of our strategy is creating sustainable leather together, keeping in mind the continuity of our family-owned company, building on its rich history since 1821. This context of ‘taking care of the next generation’ is not only relevant in the family setting, but it is also something that affects our customers, industry partners, and other stakeholders.
The fundament of our business strategy for the years to come lies in our purpose and mission. We will continue to play a catalysing role in making the leather value chain sustainable. To fulfil our role as a catalyst, we work with many stakeholders in the sector and act as transparently as possible, respecting our Guiding Principles - a set of statements that express our shared ideals and values. All our business areas, segments, regions, and brands have specific roles, but together they can contribute to an industry that will remain relevant, thanks to Royal Smit & Zoon’s guiding principles. In the coming decades, in 2025, as well as right now. To support this, our ESG Roadmap 2025 describes our commitments to our stakeholders and addresses our most material economic, environmental and social impacts.
Guiding Principles
Objective: Royal Smit & Zoon's Guiding Principles support the company mission
The company culture is embedded in five clear Guiding Principles, contributing to our mission ‘to create a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain, together’. With this mission, we have set a double goal. Not only will we do whatever we can to drive continuous improvement of sustainability aspects in all our activities, but at the same time, we are committed to a collaborative effort: only by working together throughout the value chain can we meet society’s big challenges.
Our Guiding Principles help us to make decisions, guide us in our daily behavior and are essential to the long-term protection of our culture. We emphasize the importance of ensuring that short-term decisions do not have a negative long-term impact. The Guiding Principles help us to align with our mission and are secured in employee documents and tools.
1 Limited to consultants who are part of our Sales and Technicians organization
Worldwide, we create awareness among our employees on the Guiding Principles to ensure that they are part of everybody’s ‘DNA’. In an ongoing process, the Guiding Principles are internally communicated and secured in our Employee Code of Conduct (ECoC) and onboarding tools, etc. In 2023, we trained employees of our Dutch, German and Chinese entities, and consultants 1, on the ECoC and took the opportunity to, again, create awareness of the Guiding Principles. For the Dutch entities, the Guiding Principles are also implemented in our HR performance management system. Employees are asked to consider how they integrate them into their daily work. In 2024, the ECoC training program will be rolled out further globally, including creating awareness of the Guiding Principles worldwide.
We care for our customers, for each other and for the world
We are driven team players
We value and are united by diversity
We are committed to make a difference
We are passionate experts
These five Guiding Principles are:
1 Limited to consultants who are part of our Sales and Technicians organization
Worldwide, we create awareness among our employees on the Guiding Principles to ensure that they are part of everybody’s ‘DNA’. In an ongoing process, the Guiding Principles are internally communicated and secured in our Employee Code of Conduct (ECoC) and onboarding tools, etc. In 2023, we trained employees of our Dutch, German and Chinese entities, and consultants 1, on the ECoC and took the opportunity to, again, create awareness of the Guiding Principles. For the Dutch entities, the Guiding Principles are also implemented in our HR performance management system. Employees are asked to consider how they integrate them into their daily work. In 2024, the ECoC training program will be rolled out further globally, including creating awareness of the Guiding Principles worldwide.
We care for our customers, for each other and for the world
We are driven team players
We value and are united by diversity
We are committed to make a difference
We are passionate experts
These five Guiding Principles are:
Guiding Principles
Objective: Royal Smit & Zoon's Guiding Principles support the company mission
The company culture is embedded in five clear Guiding Principles, contributing to our mission ‘to create a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain, together’. With this mission, we have set a double goal. Not only will we do whatever we can to drive continuous improvement of sustainability aspects in all our activities, but at the same time, we are committed to a collaborative effort: only by working together throughout the value chain can we meet society’s big challenges.
Our Guiding Principles help us to make decisions, guide us in our daily behavior and are essential to the long-term protection of our culture. We emphasize the importance of ensuring that short-term decisions do not have a negative long-term impact. The Guiding Principles help us to align with our mission and are secured in employee documents and tools.
Our 2025 Strategy
Innovation and family values as the Guiding Principles in our purpose-driven leadership
The heart of our strategy is creating sustainable leather together, keeping in mind the continuity of our family-owned company, building on its rich history since 1821. This context of ‘taking care of the next generation’ is not only relevant in the family setting, but it is also something that affects our customers, industry partners, and other stakeholders.
The fundament of our business strategy for the years to come lies in our purpose and mission. We will continue to play a catalysing role in making the leather value chain sustainable. To fulfil our role as a catalyst, we work with many stakeholders in the sector and act as transparently as possible, respecting our Guiding Principles - a set of statements that express our shared ideals and values. All our business areas, segments, regions, and brands have specific roles, but together they can contribute to an industry that will remain relevant, thanks to Royal Smit & Zoon’s guiding principles. In the coming decades, in 2025, as well as right now. To support this, our ESG Roadmap 2025 describes our commitments to our stakeholders and addresses our most material economic, environmental and social impacts.
Our Philosophy
Towards the future of leather
As a 7th -generation family business we are deeply committed to sustainable development, recognizing it as a crucial journey toward securing a prosperous and responsible future for generations to come. By focusing on sustainable tanning solutions and constantly innovating in our laboratories, we not only meet current industry standards but also set new benchmarks for quality, safety, and eco-friendliness.
Our dedication to continuous improvement is evident in our commitment to research and development, involving highly qualified chemists, product developers, and leather technicians. This approach not only reflects our commitment to continuously enhance product quality but also demonstrates our readiness to adapt to evolving environmental concerns and technological advancements.
Beyond our focus on product development, we actively support the sustainability goals of our customers, fostering collaborative relationships. By aligning ourselves with their sustainability objectives, we do not only strengthen our partnerships but also ensure a shared vision for a sustainable future. We believe that their future success is tied to our own, emphasizing our collective sustainability journey.
Our Purpose and Mission
Creating a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain, together
Our mission is to create value for customers, shareholders, employees, and society by developing product and process innovations and raising awareness of the need for sustainable solutions in the entire leather value chain. We aim to cooperate with all the stakeholders, from research centers to competitors and beyond, in the leather value chain and share knowledge and innovations to get more sustainable solutions for the manufacturing of leather. By working together towards the same goal, we aim to improve the leather industry as a whole and to keep Royal Smit & Zoon relevant and on top of the market.
For our customers, this means they can always rely on our safe, efficient, and sustainable solutions. Our shareholders are given continuity, profit, and further growth, leading to a strong sense of pride in our achievements. Royal Smit & Zoon’s employees are always part of our family; through our employability programs, they remain competent, involved, and engaged. Our mission helps society by not only offering leather as a sustainable source for all kinds of products but also by taking care of our planet and of the next generations of people that will be living here.
