‘‘To Waterdrinker, sustainability means taking responsibility to supply reliable products that are produced in an environmentally friendly way. Viability and care for the environment are at least as important as making as much profit as we can and we should be aware of that", says Koen Druijf, Quality, CSR and Sustainability Manager at Waterdrinker'.
Floriculture Sustainability Initiative accelerators
The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) is an initiative for advancing sustainability in the international floriculture chain. Waterdrinker is one of the five FSI accelerators. "Together with Dutch Flower Group, FleuraMetz, Royal Lemkes and Royal FloraHolland, we have committed to the goal of implementing a minimal sustainability standard of 90% in the business by 2020. And this collaboration is quite unique as five competitors find it important enough to commit to this agreement", says Koen.
Certificate is 'License to deliver'
Koen is happy that some growers have already started communicating about certification on their packaging: "Communication means that you're transparent about what you do. As a trading company, Waterdrinker will ultimately make choices and only do business with those growers who have this certification." That is why Koen recommends that growers start with this certification immediately, because it will be a 'License to deliver' in the future.
Meetings with growers
Waterdrinker organizes grower meetings about sustainability and certification on a regular basis. Informative and stimulating sessions to be able to move in the right direction towards a more sustainable product together.
Source: Royal FloraHolland