Growers United | Sustainable Together
On Thursday 10 March 2022, the directors of Growers United launched the Sustainable Together scheme. Growers United interprets Sustainable Together as increasing the sustainability of the supply chain from the grower to the point of sale. This is achieved by reducing the environmental impact of growing and packing our vegetables. But it also means improving the health and wellbeing of consumers and the team at Growers United. The growers’ cooperative will be setting the bar even higher in the years ahead. The ambition for 2040 is 100% circular, fair and healthy: this is the speck on the horizon.
Three pillars, nine themes
The pillars of this sustainable approach are: Less Impact, Reduce Waste and Healthy People. Within these three pillars, we focus on nine themes for enhanced sustainability.
Less impact: minimising the impact of our crops on the planet. And aiming for the lowest and most efficient use of energy, water and crop protection products.
Reduce waste: reducing waste and recycling and repurposing our residual flows.
Healthy people: promoting the health, safety and well-being of our colleagues by investing in the personal growth and development of all our employees. And that of consumers by offering them the very best, most delicious greenhouse vegetables.
Measurable goals
In 2019, Growers United determined where we are and where we want to go. It was all very specific. We also continually monitor and measure our current status, for example using the Horti Footprint: a standardised calculation method used to measure and benchmark our efforts objectively and express them clearly as a score. A pilot project will be completed in summer 2022. This internationally recognised measurement method will subsequently be rolled out to all our growers. The expertise and insights we gain will be used to increase the sustainability of our supply chain.
Sustainability dashboard
A sustainability dashboard shows precisely the current status of our journey to reach our concrete (intermediate) goals for 2025. We reveal this status using data. Where are we now? What are we doing well? Where can we improve and intensify our efforts? We communicate step by step, honestly and transparently about our current status.
By and for growers
Growers United is a professional cooperative formed by and for vegetable growers. With five brands, more than 40 family-run businesses, approximately 635 hectares of greenhouses and a turnover in the region of €490 million, Growers United is one of Europe’s major players in growing, packing and marketing greenhouse grown vegetables. In addition to sales and marketing activities, we also help our growers with aspects such as quality assurance, food safety certification or improving the sustainability of their crops.
We invest in the future by attracting specialists in areas such as data analysis, innovation management and internationalisation.