Bol’s 2024 Impact report: Working towards a more sustainable and inclusive platform

May 14, 2025 – Last month, our Dutch brand bol published its 2024 Impact report, highlighting the steps it’s taking to reduce its environmental impact, create a more inclusive platform, and support responsible entrepreneurship across its network of 47,000 partners. 

Highlights from bol’s 2024 report 
The report reflects bol’s mission to make more sustainable choices easier for customers and partners, while continuously improving the platform’s own operations. “We’ve made great progress, but there’s still a lot to do,” says Dennis van den Berg, Head of ESG at bol. “We must continue to learn, continue to improve. Sustainability is not a KPI that you check off. It’s a responsibility that we must take seriously every day.”  A number of highlights from the report are included below: 

Reducing environmental impact  
Bol is focused on reducing the climate impact of its operations through various initiatives, including cutting emissions from its logistics and packaging. 

• In 2024, 9% of items were shipped without an outer box, resulting in a reduction of 4 million kg cardboard. Bol also uses recycled cardboard to reduce waste. 
• Bol converted two packaging machines to “Folding Green Machines”, which reduce carbon emissions per package by approximately 28%. The brand plans to convert more machines in 2025 to further reduce cardboard and glue usage.  
• Overall, carbon emissions per package decreased by over 5% compared with 2023.  

Supporting the circular economy  
Bol is making strides by introducing and expanding circular propositions, with a focus on extending the life of products through initiatives like second-hand sales, product repair and refurbished electronics. 

• In 2024, 159,000 broken products were sent in for repair, of which 90,000 were repaired and given a second life (the rest were recycled). 
• The brand also launched its refurbished electronics proposition, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches. 
• Bol is collaborating with quality partners to ensure refurbished items meet high standards, including rigorous quality checks and a two-year warranty. 
• For 2025, bol plans to further expand its refurbished assortment by adding more partners and product categories. 

Collaborating with suppliers to reduce emissions  
Bol recognizes the critical role of supplier collaboration in achieving broader climate goals, and is actively engaging with suppliers on this topic.  

• The brand is working with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions, acknowledging that 80% of emissions come from the top 250 suppliers.  
• Bol launched the Climate hub (“Klimaathub” in Dutch) to help suppliers calculate, set and report on Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) goals for their carbon emissions.  
• In 2024, bol’s largest suppliers shared information about their emissions, providing a better understanding of the total carbon emissions within their supply chain. 

Promoting social impact and inclusion 
Bol is committed to creating positive social impact through various initiatives focused on enhancing inclusion and equity. 

• The Bollebozen program aims to improve language, reading and digital skills among children. In 2024, this program reached over 800,000 children and their caregivers. 
• The brand donated over 441,000 books to children in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname. 
• Bol is focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in its workplace, with programs like Women in Product & Tech and Women in Leadership. The proportion of women in leadership positions increased to 43.4%, and women in Tech roles reached 28%. 

Working towards a more sustainable assortment 
Bol continues to develop ways of guiding customers towards more sustainable choices.  

• The platform is increasing the visibility of products with the “Goede Keuze” (good choice) label, which helps customers identify products with significant sustainability advantages over comparable items – such as recycled materials or the Fairtrade hallmark. 
• In 2024, there were 1.5 million “Goede Keuze” products on the platform. 

For the first time, bol’s 2024 Impact Report aligns with Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) standards, offering more transparent insights into key topics such as the environment, human rights, diversity and working conditions. Read the full report here