Stahl leather experts free to volunteer for projects in the developing world
11/03/2016
Founded by Dutch employers’ organisation VNO-NCW in 1978, PUM supports small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries by sending senior experts on a volunteer basis to advise and help set up improvement projects in the workplace. Its main aim is to combat poverty. Its work is financed by the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs and other donors.
In this instance, Stahl technicians will contribute their skills and knowledge to help SMEs in the leather sector in selected regions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe.
PUM chief executive, Thijs van Praag, explained at the time of the announcement that the organisation serves 2,000 SMEs per year in 70 countries and 80 industries. He said the leather industry has long been one of the sectors the organisation serves but, with a dwindling number of tanneries active in the Netherlands, fewer experts have been available for PUM to call on than in years gone by. He said that the new partnership with Stahl will change that.
In practice, what will happen will be that PUM will let Stahl know when it has a leather project on the horizon. Stahl will look at the details and decide which of its technicians, based on language, specific skills and availability, are best suited to go and work on the project for two or three weeks.
Commenting on the development, Stahl’s director of sustainability, Michael Costello, said that the company has leather experts from all parts of the world on its payroll and is “more than willing” to free them up to work on PUM projects. He said this will give Stahl “a great opportunity to make a positive difference on a global scale”.
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