Good resolutions are part of starting a new year. Examples are attention for sustainability and contributing to a better environment. In 2019 Royal FloraHolland, too, will be working on a broader sustainability agenda for the future.
This is what CEO Steven van Schilfgaarde said in the latest GROW: "We need to take steps in the area of sustainability. I learned from my conversations with growers and customers that there's an awareness of consumers becoming more demanding, both in terms of crop protection and packaging. It's very positive that our members not only have commercial motives, but really want to leave a better world behind." What does this mean in concrete terms for 2019?
Certification is the foundation of sustainability
Consumer demand for honest, reliable and sustainably produced flowers and plants is growing. The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) is an initiative for advancing sustainability in the international floriculture chain. Its concrete objective is to ensure that 90% of all plants and flowers traded or produced by its members must be sustainable by 2020. To FSI, sustainable growing means that you comply with a sustainability certificate. There are various categories.
New projects The Green Agenda in 2019
More and more companies are discovering the advantages of green through the projects of the Green Agenda. Plants contribute to increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. Spaces with plants result in more satisfied and positive employees, higher productivity, less stress and less absenteeism compared to the same spaces without plants. These are important results of recent scientific research conducted by the Green Agenda.
Five new project proposals were approved within Topsector programme the Green Agenda for 2019:
- A healthier indoor climate because of plants
- A green garden, a healthy garden
- Effective green for climate adaptation in the city
- Business case plants for a nice indoor climate
- Living nice and green
CO2 neutral energy consumption by 2025
Royal FloraHolland actively improves their own CO2 footprint to reduce the environmental effect on the surroundings. Their goal is CO2-neutral energy consumption by 2025. Which steps are they taking to achieve this?
- They are using the Stimulating Sustainable Energy Production (SDE) subsidies that they received to construct large solar power installations at the Aalsmeer, Eelde and Rijnsburg locations. This way, they can make the roofs profitable and generate green electricity for own use.
- They have signed a new electricity contract as of 1 January 2020. This contract is the foundation for purchasing sustainably generated electricity.
Both activities positively impact the CO2 footprint. The auction expects Eelde to run on solar power for the most part as early as 2019.
Source: Royal FloraHolland