A company’s impact on the environment and society is not easy and unambiguous to demonstrate, it emerged during roundtable discussions at the PLANTARIUM|GROEN-Direkt trade fair. Yet the floriculture sector also needs to take steps in this regard. Indeed, the CSRD sustainability report required from the EU forces large companies to produce in a demonstrably sustainable manner.

CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) is legislation and a European directive for large companies to report on their human and climate impact. As a company, you are big if you have at least two of these three conditions: more than 250 employees, more than €50 million turnover per year, more than €25 million on the balance sheet. Those companies are required to report, their suppliers (e.g. growers) are required to disclose. CSRD does not say that those suppliers have to certify, but it does help in structuring and recording info on processes and products, participants in the roundtable discussion at the trade fair’s so-called Green Future Hub in Boskoop told us.

Opportunities

One conclusion was that steps have certainly already been made in the area of certification. And that both certification and the EU directive on CSRD also offer opportunities for companies. For the trade organisations, however, there is still a tough challenge to raise awareness and get all growers on board. LTO chairman Erik Stuurbrink stated that in the interest of the entire floriculture sector, small growers must also be helped in the coming years to meet the upcoming certification and sustainability requirements. In floriculture, many small businesses are not yet certified, mainly due to cost and time constraints. Stuurbrink also hopes for a level playing field in the EU, knowing that sustainability certificates currently vary from country to country and Dutch companies have their act together on many fronts (being the best behaved child in the class).

At the moment, the accountants who audit the sustainability aspect at large companies are not yet on the same page, several participants in the roundtable discussion were told. Edmund Timm, manager of commerce at MPS, added his employer already regularly receives questions from large trading companies about the sustainability and environmental impact of the five largest crop groups in floriculture. Stuurbrink argued that retailers also need to change their underwriting behaviour in the coming years, as more sustainable growing with less chemistry can have an effect on the appearance of ornamental crops.

Questions

Meanwhile, there are also many questions. How will you make things around biodiversity measurable? And what do you do with differences in Europe? Different aspects and interests play a role in water quality in the Netherlands than in Italy, for example. Will everything have to be grown with 0% chemistry in five years’ time? No, said the roundtable participants. But make sure the footprint of your product is known. And talk to your customers, because large companies themselves report which sustainability aspects are most important to them.

Source: Hortipoint / PlatformBloem