Case story: Zeelandia uses the Envirometer internationally

As an internationally operating company, Zeelandia is happy with the possibilities that the Envirometer offers to measure and monitor their environmental impact at their branches abroad.

Zeelandia is an international producer of raw materials for bakeries. The family business has existed for over 120 years. Its headquarters is based in Zierikzee, where approximately 430 employees work. In addition, they operate in more than 30 countries around the world, with several branches.

CSR is an important foundation

For Zeelandia, Corporate Social Responsibility is an important foundation of business operations. It is fundamental for a sustainable future, not only for the company but also for the environment of which it is a part of.

They have been using the Envirometer for several years to monitor and manage their environmental impact. In their CSR report, Zeelandia uses the graphs from the Envirometer that have been converted into their own house style.

International input with the Envirometer

The CSR report details the company’s global environmental impact. The international branches of Zeelandia are encouraged to also fill in their environmental data, so there is a complete overview of the impact of the entire company. The non-Dutch-speaking colleagues simply switch to the English translation of the Envirometer. Since the tool is fully accessible on the internet, it can be used worldwide.

“Thanks to the Envirometer, the Corporate organization of Zeelandia has once again been able to publish a great sustainability report.”

André Gouw,
Environmental Assurance Officer Zeelandia

Green energy

2021 was the first year in which the Dutch branch of Zeelandia only used locally produced green electricity. This clearly reflected in a decrease in environmental impact. 53% of the company’s global energy consumption now consists of green energy. A small percentage of this is generated by means of solar panels at their own factories. Zeelandia intents to increase the use of locally produced green energy in the coming years.

_{Source: Royal Zeelandia Group CSR Rapport 2021 Highlights ENG}

Unsorted waste

Zeelandia is aware of the environmental impact of food waste in their supply chain. The waste is carefully monitored. The total amount of waste from the Zeelandia factories is less than 1% of their total annual production. In 2021 the share of unsorted waste was brought down to 14% of all waste. In 2023, Zeelandia wants to reduce this share to less than 10%. Sorted waste can be reused better.

Hydrogen instead of natural gas

The next important step to using more sustainable energy will be the reduction of natural gas consumption. A hydrogen station is being built on Schouwen-Duiveland. The hydrogen is sustainably produced with surplus wind and solar energy. By connecting the large industrial steam boiler to this hydrogen installation, natural gas consumption can be reduced by 550,000 m3 per year. The smaller boilers will also be connected to the hydrogen network when they need to be replaced.