At the end of January, Royal FloraHolland's management and Supervisory Board approved Royal FloraHolland's participation in the Euro Plant Tray (EPT) cooperative. EPT was established on August 23, 2022, by several industry parties with the aim of creating a new European multi-use plant tray series. Since then, several industry organizations have joined EPT and are working together to develop the new tray series and corresponding pool system. Royal FloraHolland has also joined now.
Dirk Bansemer (OBI), Marc Goudzwaard (Royal FloraHolland), Thomas Berthold (FM Group), Flora Spath (VGB), Jessy Lee Kemmers (Royal FloraHolland)
Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg (SIM) launched a study on a new European multi-use plant tray, including the corresponding pool model, in March 2021. The study was initiated by several parties, including industry representatives within the European floriculture sector and German retail. This research eventually led to the establishment of Euro Plant Tray eG, the organization now rolling out the initiative.
Participation of Royal FloraHolland
A number of attempts have been made over the past decade to launch a multi-use tray in the market, but these initiatives have so far not been a large-scale success. "With the existing political pressure on packaging sustainability, we see this initiative as an opportunity to jointly realize a standardized European plant tray system. We are participating so that we can join in the discussions, using our expertise and thus representing the interests of our members. Within EPT, we are working together to introduce a well-functioning system, committed to the transition from single-use to multi-use trays with the aim of a more sustainable floriculture chain."
Follow-up steps
Sixteen sector-related organizations from several European countries have joined EPT since its creation, and the discussions concern the development of both the tray series and the pool model. "Through our participation, we can now fully participate in these discussions, in which we will jointly work on further development with the other EPT members in the coming period. When more information is known about the progress of EPT, they will share it in their weekly Royal FloraHolland digital newsletter.
Source: Royal FloraHolland