Sustainability
Corporate responsibility
Sustainable and responsible cultivation is one of our core values. Every day we focus on making our processes and products more sustainable. That is why we work with organic products, and do that in a way that requires as few resources as possible, has the smallest possible ecological footprint, and is not harmful to people or animals. Our plants provide clean air and bring happiness. That is also what we strive for as a business.
MPS certified
Van der Voort Potplanten is MPS certified, amongst other things. The good thing about this certificate is that it is not a snapshot. Complying with MPS-ABC means that we have an independent monitoring tool that helps us to cultivate as sustainably as possible. This gives us a continuous overview of the resources that we are using, but we can also see where greater efficiency can be achieved and we can operate even more sustainably.
Co-owner of our
geothermal network
Since 2019 we have been the co-owner of the cooperative that operates the Trias Westland heat network. That means that we heat a large part of the greenhouse with geothermal heat. It gives us a ‘licence to produce’, because with geothermal heat we keep the energy cost stable in a sustainable way and generate enough energy for high-quality plant production. Geothermal heat is a sustainable alternative to gas and electricity. Together with our installer we have installed a special piping system.
In this, the water with geothermal heat passes twice under the trolleys that hold the plants. This cools the water from 85 degrees to 23 degrees. As a result, we no longer need any natural gas in the summer, and in the winter over 20 percent of the heat requirement is met by the heat network. We are thereby making progress in terms of yield every year.
Our sustainability initiatives
Of course we separate our waste at Van der Voort Potplanten. We also capture all the rainwater that falls on our greenhouses and sheds, with which we water our plants and thereby save a lot of water. And naturally we use almost entirely biological crop protection through the preventative use of the natural predators of any harmful organisms that threaten the quality of our plants. This is ideal, because biological crop protection is healthy for the crop, soil and surface water. Our plants are good for people, our production is good for the environment – that is the balance with which we want to produce.
Creating balance
Balance is the magic formula. Our plants create balance in the climate in the consumer’s home, so at Van der Voort Potplanten we seek balance in the production as well. Whether it involves biological crop protection to look after the plant, giving the employees responsibility or the use of energy and sun screens to keep the climate in the greenhouse are stable as possible, we are always looking for the right balance. That results in a better climate in the greenhouse, healthier plants and happier employees.
