Cosun SCO2RE+: Identifying Scope 3 emissions

Indirect emissions

Bertram: “Scope 3 includes all emissions in our value chains that are involved with our raw materials, services and products, but which we do not directly emit or cause ourselves during the process. For example, cultivation or transportation of our crops, the use of packaging materials and even the commuting journeys made by our colleagues.” Scope 3 also comes into play at the end of the supply chain – with the consumer, Gerwin adds: “This is also an area where we can make progress. For example, by developing products that require less energy when being used. Cooking potatoes in an air fryer is more efficient and results in lower emissions than baking them in an oven. This is how you can make an impact from the beginning to the end of the supply chain.”

Different disciplines

“This is also where the challenge lies,” Bertram points out. “Addressing Scope 1 and 2 is relatively simple because it has to do with your own operation. You can identify emissions within a plant, where improvements can be made, and base choices on the findings to reduce CO2. And the production managers are responsible for implementing the measures.” For scope 3, the picture is very different: “You have to deal with a lot more different disciplines under scope 3: cultivation, product development, HR, logistics, purchasing and so on. On top of that, we work with five different business groups (BGs). Trying to come up with a structure for all of this, even if it’s just for data collection, will take a while.”

It starts with insight

Since scope 3 was added to the SCO2RE+ programme in August 2022, a lot of hard work has gone into creating that structure within Cosun and the various BGs. Bertram: “A new sustainability manager has been hired per BG, who also serves as a point of contact for the scope 3 programme. A consultation structure has been set up, in which we periodically discuss the progress of data collection, but also how to standardise as much as possible.” Now, a year into the programme, the goal is to identify scope 3 emissions at a BG and Cosun level by the end of 2023. “It all starts with insight. Data provides us with a reference point from which to set goals for scope 3 reduction. We can then move on to taking action.”

Important focus

The focus on scope 3 is certainly important. Bertram: “This doesn’t mean that scope 1 & 2 are less urgent. With new pending EU regulations, as an organisation, you’re actually already compelled to contribute to reducing scope 3 emissions.” He cites examples such as mandatory recycling, requirements for low or lower emission engines in logistics and, on the cultivation side, the Farm to Fork strategy, with tools for carbon capture, and obligations to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilisers. “The entire European climate and environmental policy contributes to reducing scope 3 emissions.” Despite the complexity, it is important to maintain focus. Gerwin: “We estimate that scope 3 could represent two-thirds of our total carbon footprint. That’s quite a substantial part.”

Joining forces

Thanks to the commitment of the entire organisation, Bertram predicts that they will be able to join forces to realise the goals: “For example, the different BGs all deal with lots of transport movements of potato, beet and chicory crops. You can make joint arrangements with transport companies regarding the use of low-emission or even climate-neutral trucks.” Aizo sees additional benefits to the joint use of data and insights: “More data can help make your logistics processes more efficient, for example. If you have common sources of scope 3 emissions, you can adopt a standardised approach to addressing and managing them.”

Thinking out-of-the-box

In addition to having a clear approach and structure, you also need transparent communication in order to achieve this within the organisation. Bertram: “There are only a few people who know scope 3, what it entails and what is involved in identifying and reducing emissions. Because emissions occur throughout the supply chain, you have to involve the entire supply chain. This includes the growers.” “This is also where the strength of a scope 3 approach lies,” Aizo adds. “To address emissions, you need to change your perspective on business operations. You have to think out-of-the-box. It’s almost a case of a systemic change, in which we approach our growth and ambitions with a positive outlook towards the future.”

Cosun’s vigour

Bertram predicts that the growers of potato, beet and chicory crops will play an undisputable role: “The common denominator for our BGs is the grower. The impact will vary per crop, but it’s clear that the impact on the supply chain is significant. It will take a new way of cultivation to meet our common goals.” It is obvious that the grower needs to be supported. Gerwin explains: “Together, we’re seeing more and more opportunities. Aviko is focusing on this with Cosun, through the Cosun Growth Power programme. We’re testing new techniques on the inspiration farm of one of our growers. Here, other farmers can also learn and get inspired. That’s where the synergy between the different crops lies.”

Cosun SCO2RE+: From climate ambition to climate action

Johan: “Our team is coordinating the SCO2RE+ programme on behalf of Cosun. SCO2RE+ stands for Strategic CO2 Reduction. It was a working title that stuck.” Within Cosun, the programme is serving as a boost for increasing sustainability. “It’s not about individual projects like a heat pump or solar farm, which are more for the business groups themselves, we focus on how everything fits together. We facilitate the pooling of knowledge and roadmap data, and see where the most impact can be made using the resources available.”

Green by Design

SCO2RE+ is seizing the opportunity to challenge the boards of the various business groups about their growth plans. Johan: “Cosun’s future growth must be ‘Green by Design’. This means that, when considering the future, we make smart choices upfront, for example when building a new plant. Even if it’s not profitable right now.” Johan believes that this way of thinking about new processes and products should become the norm: “There’s still a real tendency to adopt traditional approaches because the alternatives aren’t always clear yet. SCO2RE+ helps clarify these alternatives.” With ‘Green by Design’ as the starting point, organisational growth need not be an obstacle to achieving reduction goals. “You don’t need to reduce what you don’t create,” says Johan.

From paper to action

What started with an hour a week in 2018 has grown into a full-time job for both of Johan and Bertram. “We’ve now moved from the on-paper phase to the action phase,” Bertram explains. “We now have to start making budget choices as an organisation. Significant investment will be required to meet our goals. The various business groups have already taken steps and have developed roadmaps for projects that are to be implemented. For example, the V-Rise project by Cosun Beet Company.” Rising energy prices and efficiency measures are offering not only a social stimulus, but also an economic incentive for increasing sustainability. “We currently talk a lot about investments and costs, but the bottom line is that the transition will end up making us money. The challenge is in the speed and affordability with which we can make it happen. The V-Rise project, for example, has reduced emissions significantly, but it is a €100+ million project.”

Power grid as bottleneck

At the factory level, measures such as e-boilers and heat pumps offer opportunities for short-term reductions in energy consumption or CO2 emissions. A new heat pump at Aviko Rixona in Warffum will achieve gas consumption reduction equivalent to about 550 households. “The technology to reduce energy consumption and make the transition is there. It’s just the conditions for implementing them aren’t always in place,” Johan points out. “For example, subsidies, permits and connections to the electricity network.” This is why the intermediate step of a 30% reduction, set by Cosun for 2025, will be difficult to achieve. “We have plenty of projects in the pipeline, but they aren’t always feasible yet,” he adds. “This is why SCO2RE+ also includes a lobbying role,” Bertram explains. “We’re talking – often alongside other companies – to government authorities and politicians to ensure that the transition, and what we as a business community need to achieve it, get on to the agenda.”

Scope 3

Heading towards 2030, the focus within SCO2RE+ is primarily on scope 1 and 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the international leading standard in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction: reducing your own gas and electricity consumption. In August 2022, the programme was expanded from SCO2RE to SCO2RE+, this means that scope 3 was also placed more explicitly on the agenda. Bertram: “Scope 3 includes all the emissions that do not come directly from your own operations, for example, from the growing of raw materials such as sugar beets, potatoes and chicory. NGOs are putting a lot of pressure on scope 3 emissions. In March 2021, the court in The Hague ruled that Shell bears the responsibility for its scope 3 emissions. This means scope 3 emissions will also become increasingly important for companies. However, you first have to define them.” Making these emissions visible and measurable requires cooperation in the supply chain. Bertram: “in order to reduce emissions, stakeholders have to work together.”

Capturing carbon

As emissions throughout the supply chain become increasingly important, growers will also become more affected. Johan: “Ultimately, they’ll make a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in the supply chain. To become climate neutral, you also have to capture carbon. Hopefully, there’s also a potential revenue model there for growers.”

 

Energy demand for thickening process on a thick juice line

Sensus extracts inulin from chicory root. To preserve the product, part of the harvest is evaporated as a semi-finished product into a thick and clear juice (TCJ). Evaporation is an energy-intensive process, which results in greenhouse gas emissions.

Saving where we can

Greenhouse gas emissions from a factory are viewed at three different levels, known as scopes.

  • Scope 1: Emissions from own chimney
  • Scope 2: Emissions from power consumption
  • Scope 3: Emissons from use of excipients

For 2030, Sensus is focusing on Scope 1. “Our priority is to first save energy where we possible and to then use a renewable energy source. For example, with electrification (adapting processes that currently use gas into electric processes), and by utilising and generating green electricity and biogas,” Henk explains. “Scope 3, the greening of excipients, involves a lot more work and often requires converting the entire process. We’re working on that too, but that’s more of a long-term project towards 2050.”

Energy Master Plan

To tackle energy consumption in Roosendaal, the Energy Workgroup within Sensus created a model of the plant’s energy management. Henk: “This model formed the basis of the Energy Master Plan that we prepared for Roosendaal. The plan has six phases that will allow us to more than halve the plant’s gas demand by 2030, and completely green it by 2050.” “We completed the first phase already in 2022,” Koen adds. “Thanks to additional heat exchangers, we’ve ensured that we can use the heat in the plant more efficiently. Phase two is now underway and includes something similar, but with vapour flows. Phase 3 – the biggest step in reducing gas consumption – is now being prepared,”.

Evaporating thick juice

In Phase 3 of the Energy Master Plan, the evaporation process of the TCJ line will be made more sustainable through Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR). The evaporation process on the TCJ line uses steam to evaporate water from the chicory juice under high temperature. Koen: “The residual vapour that is created is reused in the current process, but you still use a relatively large amount of fresh steam. Thanks to MVR, you increase the pressure and the temperature of the residual vapour, so you can use it again as steam. The current steam process runs on gas. MVR is all-electric and a lot more efficient. In fact, MVR on the TCJ line can save up to 90% on energy consumption. This return makes it one of the most interesting projects we can do.”

Attention to saving

This new technology on the TCJ line could save 3.9 million cubic meters of gas per year in Roosendaal. “That’s equivalent to the consumption of about 3,000 households,” Henk points out. “And with the current cost of energy, a project like this becomes even more interesting. Now that we are so involved with this, we’re seeing an increasing focus on energy saving across the company.” Koen: “It’s also a really worthwhile project in the context of the global climate.”

The route to 2030

For Henk and Koen, the next few years are all about further increasing sustainability at the Roosendaal plant. Henk: “As things stand, it looks like we’re going to meet our 2030 target. Phase 3 is being followed by two more, somewhat smaller, efficiency steps. In the final phase, we’ll meet our remaining gas demand with biogas. We currently already extract biogas from our water treatment process. We’ll soon supplement this with gas from fermenting chicory pulp. This is how we can make our gas consumption 100% sustainable.”

Reduction in gas consumption at the Roosendaal plant per step within the Energy Master Plan. Green is green gas; blue is natural gas.

Scoring double with a heatpump

In Warffum, Groningen, Aviko Rixona processes potatoes into dried potato granules. Cooking, processing and drying food is a technological process that consumes a lot of energy. To reduce the factory’s energy consumption, and thus its CO2 emissions, Aviko Rixona in Warffum has installed the first heat pump within Cosun. Jeroen Zwietering is Energy Process Engineer at Aviko Rixona and is working on realising the energy transition of three plants within the company. We spoke to Jeroen about the heat pump project in Warffum, a project with which he has been involved since the conception of the idea through to its implementation.

Connecting processes

As part of the approach within the SCO2RE+ programme, Jeroen and his team began analysing the production lines in the factory. “We identified an opportunity to combine two processes in Warffum that require a lot of energy: a heating step and a cooling step. It was possible to connect the two processes using a heat pump,” Jeroen explains. In the next step, they analysed heat pump capabilities and the potential business case. Jeroen: “It has to make sense in terms of cost, energy savings and revenue. In addition, it mustn’t interfere with operations. The factory has to be able to keep running, the operators have to be able to work with the new solution, and it must be safe.”

Long delivery times

The project was launched in 2020, in the midst of the Covid pandemic. “Despite restrictions and long delivery times for materials, the project proceeded efficiently,” Jeroen explains. “The heat pump was completely assembled on site at the manufacturer’s premises. Our colleagues made all the preparations in our factory, such as piping and other adjustments to the building.” Once the machine was finished, it was transported to Warffum on a flatbed trailer. Within 1-2 weeks, the heat pump was installed and operational. “It was challenging, but everything went smoothly and worked out as planned. This is thanks to the commitment and cooperation of all our colleagues who worked on the project.”

550 households

The heat pump in Warffum uses residual heat from cooling water to heat water in another process step. “We’re winning with the heat pump in two areas: lower consumption of natural gas for heating and less electricity for cooling. With this new system, we’ve achieved a reduction in gas consumption equivalent to around 550 households. And it’s actually using a technique that has been known for years from refrigeration technology, just like your fridge at home. Only now, we apply the design to the heating and not the cooling function. And that’s actually the crux of the system, that you start thinking differently.”

Proven technique

Jeroen sees this project as a blueprint for increasing the sustainability of other production lines within Aviko Rixona: “With this heat pump, we’ve proven that the technology works and that relatively few adjustments are needed within the operation to achieve substantial energy gains. Wherever there’s a combination of hot and cold flows within a process, a heat pump could make a difference. Within Aviko Rixona, I can easily come up with several potential areas.”

Combination of steps

“To make real strides in reducing energy consumption, you have to involve everyone in the organisation,” Jeroen believes. “It’s a combination of big steps, like a heat pump, and small steps, such as looking at indirect issues. Energy loss is one such issue. It’s important that everyone is aware of where energy is being consumed and lost within their area of expertise. If you use a lot of cleaning water, it takes extra energy at the water treatment plant. If your whole operation is running, but you’re losing potatoes, that also means you’re wasting energy. It all starts with thinking differently and becoming more aware of what can be done. There are huge gains to be made if everyone is clear about the effect their actions have on energy consumption.”

A dazzling sustainability performance

‘The idea for the solar park was part of a much larger zoning plan,’ Paul begins. The former sugar factory on the 110-hectare site was closed at the end of 2004. After the new zoning plan was finalised in 2018, the development of the site could begin in earnest. ‘The approach to the redevelopment of the site was not only to generate new business activity, but also to make the site sustainable for the future. That’s how we ended up creating a solar park on part of the site.’

Unveiling

The solar park was officially unveiled on Friday 23 September. As the solar panels have been generating power since last year, Paul deliberately uses the term ‘unveiling’ rather than ‘opening’. The COVID-19 pandemic and all the disruption it caused meant the original opening date had to be postponed. The unveiling took the form of a seminar with stakeholders and residents from the immediate area. After the seminar, other residents of the village were also given the opportunity to visit the solar park. Although local stakeholders were aware that there was a solar park somewhere, now was the first time they could properly see it from the viewing platform located above the embankment. ‘That’s also exactly what we wanted: a solar park that can offset* our factories’ power consumption while having zero impact on the environment,’ says Paul.

Two parts

The park is divided into two parts. One part, covering net 7 hectares, is owned by Cosun Beet Company and supplies power directly to the adjacent speciality factory. The other part of the park, covering about 10 hectares, is operated by Klimaatfonds Nederland (a Dutch investment fund aimed at promoting Dutch solar power) and feeds power directly into the grid. Although Klimaatfonds Nederland leases the land from Cosun Beet Company, it owns the panels. This collaboration came about through KiesZon, which built the arrays. KiesZon develops, finances, constructs, and operates large-scale solar power projects like this one with the aim of accelerating the transition to renewable energy. The green electricity generated by the project in Puttershoek will save 14 million kilograms of CO2 annually.

Social validity

Cosun Beet Company’s part of the park generates enough electricity on an annual basis to power both the adjacent speciality factory and the speciality factory in Roosendaal. However, not all the power generated by the panels can be used immediately by the speciality factory. The solar panels generate power in peaks and troughs throughout the day, depending on the strength of the sun, while demand from the factory is more constant. The factory also runs at night, when the panels aren’t generating power. Some of the products from the speciality factory are therefore produced using green electricity. The remaining power is fed directly into the grid, including to the other speciality factory in Roosendaal. This means Cosun Solar Farm’s simultaneity factor – the degree to which generated power can be used immediately – is between 35 and 40%. In the future, when storage technologies such as batteries have come on, that simultaneity factor might increase. For now at least, Paul doesn’t think it’s a missed opportunity: ‘We have to start somewhere, and we’ve now got the ball rolling by building the first large solar park on the Hoeksche Waard island. Whether you consume renewable energy all by yourself or supply it directly to the grid, its social validity is clear. Because as a company, you’re delivering on sustainability.’ Paul is aware that lots of things need to be optimised in the energy transition: ‘We still have many steps to take as producers and consumers of energy.’

Future plans

Paul doesn’t want Cosun Solar Park to be his last renewable energy project on or near Cosun’s sites. ‘It’s important for Cosun to look at opportunities to generate renewable energy on its own sites.’ Wind turbines combined with a solar park could offer an opportunity to increase the simultaneity factor of green energy – the ability to harness energy directly while you’re generating it – and make a site even more energy-independent. This could be further supported by batteries that store solar energy during peak sun hours. ‘We should seize every reasonable opportunity to become more sustainable. And while we do, we should leverage local opportunities as much as possible and connect directly to our own operations and electrical connections.’

Simultaneity factor

Cosun Beet Company’s 7-hectare solar park produces about 9000 MWh per year. The speciality factory consumes around 6000 MWh, which leaves 3000 MWh for energy accounting purposes and means the factory runs energy-neutrally for energy accounting purposes*. In practice, however, the power generated by solar panels never precisely matches a factory’s energy needs. While the factory runs 24 hours a day and has a fairly constant energy requirement (except on weekends), the solar panels deliver in peaks and troughs. In the current situation, the simultaneity factor – the factory’s use of energy at the same time that energy is generated on the solar park – is 35 to 40%. Part of that energy is therefore consumed directly by the factory, and the rest is fed into the grid through the factory’s electrical connection. In the future, when there are cost-effective options for long-term energy storage, this simultaneity factor may increase. Generating green power locally and using it directly has an added advantage: if there are other users nearby (like in Puttershoek), you generally don’t have to burden the regional energy grid as much.

Crystallization process with half the amount of gas: V-RISE

Cosun will work in a completely different way in its two Dutch sugar factories in the near future. A battery of gigantic heat pumps will upgrade residual heat for the production process. To be able to work in this way, the crystallization of the sugar — which is the core of production — must be completely overhauled. The new installations at the Vierverlaten factory will be ready in 2027-2029. The ones in Dinteloord, a few years later. As a result, these locations will each save 50 percent on gas and emit 40 percent less CO2 compared with 2018. The factories also save €10 million per year on the purchase of natural gas and emission rights.

On the way to CO2-neutral

Cosun Beet Company’s sugar factories are among the most energy-efficient in Europe; in comparison with 1990, CO2 emissions have fallen by 58%. The speciality factories in Puttershoek and Roosendaal are even powered by Cosun’s own Solar Park. Bas Nijssen, energy transition manager at Cosun Beet Company says: ‘That is fine, but the climate requires that industries like ours significantly reduce fossil energy consumption and CO2 emissions. We are therefore opting for a drastic solution: a major adjustment in the production process.’ V-RISE, is the name of this conversion. This will reduce the CO2 footprint by 40% and the factories will each use half as much gas. Ultimately, our factories will be completely carbon neutral by 2050.

Heat lost

Heat is crucial when extracting sugar from beets. The production process results in low-grade residual heat: water at about fifty degrees. Cosun Beet Company cannot reuse this in its factories. Additionally, it cannot be used to heat houses or greenhouses continuously: a sugar factory does not run all year round. Cosun Beet Company is therefore required to cool this residual heat. This requires energy and the heat is lost.

Rigorous step

‘Looking at the whole production process, we cannot actually make anything even more energy-efficient. That is why we are taking a rigorous step: we are going to change our entire process. With heat pumps, we will upgrade residual heat so that we can use that heat again,’ explains Bas. Both factories will have a row of five to ten heat pumps, the largest size available. Cosun Beet Company buys green electricity for this purpose. The electricity connection will be doubled.

V-RISE is large-scale reuse of residual heat by mechanical vapour compression combined with switching from batch-based crystallization to continuous crystallization

The heart of the factory

The effect on the production process is radical. By working with heat pumps, the crystallization of sugar can no longer take place in batches; it has to be done continuously. Bas: ‘The crystallization process is the core of our factories. Making that adjustment will impact everything. We have to replace about a quarter of the installations and re-optimize the entire automation system. This is both very exciting, but inevitable.’

40 per cent less CO2

In 2027-2029, V-RISE will be ready at the sugar factory in Vierverlaten. A few years later, the factory in Dinteloord will also be running in this way. ‘We are going to consume 50 per cent less gas. CO2 emissions from the factories will drop by 40 per cent compared with 2018’, says Bas.

‘A modification of this kind requires an investment amounting to tens of millions of euros. Fortunately, the Dutch government also sees V-RISE’s potential for CO2 reduction. A VEKI-grant has been awarded for part of the investment in Vierverlaten. The reduced gas consumption and lower level of emissions will save us 10 million euros a year on the purchase of natural gas and emission rights. The investment can be recouped within ten years.’

Smoothie bottle from sugar beets

Plastic from sugar beet

Almost everything around us contains carbon. Plastic drinking bottles, make-up, your stainless steel bicycle: they all contain carbon. What about people? They are eighteen per cent carbon. So it’s a versatile and vital substance, but one with a drawback: when carbon burns, CO2 is released. And CO2 is a greenhouse gas that is causing climate change. Fossil fuels such as petroleum are an important source of carbon and many plastics are made from this. Important disadvantages of fossil-based carbon sources: they are scarce and incinerating fossil carbon produces extra CO2.

Good alternatives

There are good alternatives. Such as carbon from biomass, for example from sugar beet. Or recovering carbon from CO2 or recycling products. All these alternatives are being investigated by the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI). This is an initiative of eleven large companies from six countries as well as the German nova-Institute; a renowned research and advice agency that specializes in renewable carbon. The RCI currently has thirty members and six partners, including the WWF. Cosun Beet Company is one of the initiators. Marilia Foukaraki, Biobased Project Leader at Cosun Beet Company, is closely involved in this. ‘Cooperating in the RCI helps us better understand new markets. We share knowledge with other initiators and can learn from each other.’

RCI aims for all fossil carbon in chemicals and materials to be replaced by renewable, climate-neutral carbon by 2050. Marilia: ‘The transition to biobased and circular carbon is just as important as replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. RCI helps spread that insight in the European Union.’

Carbon from sugar beet

‘Cosun Beet Company is one of the RCI initiators as it aims to be a frontrunner in the biobased economy. We want to obtain more from sugar beet than only sugar. We are entirely convinced that plant-based and circular is the future. RCI’s research and activities help us better understand new markets. We share knowledge with other initiators and can learn from each other. We aim to deliver additional input for a biobased Europe and contribute to solutions for climate problems. Biobased paint, packaging, or cosmetics? All possible with climate-neutral carbon from sugar beet. Perhaps your smoothie will soon be in a bottle made from sugar beets?’

Bitters as antifungals  

Anti-fungal from chicory and endive

‘We are not a crop protection agent company but this was too great an opportunity to pass up. Stemphylium beticola leaf spot occurs on plants including sugar beet and chicory. In sugar beet, this results in damage and considerable yield losses. Chicory is not sensitive to this mould and it does not spread. Bram Hanse from the IRS research institute observed this and, as we cooperate frequently with this institute, we wanted to know more. A new project was born: CHIBA. ‘That was in 2015’, Matthew de Roode, Corporate Development Manager at Cosun and CHIBA Project Leader (CHIcory Bitter component as Antifungals), explains.

Twelve different bitter components

Many plants produce their own antibodies against diseases. It was already known that the bitter components of chicory and endive, which give endive its typical bitter flavour, have this function. Matthew: ‘Chicory contains twelve different bitter components.’

Collecting evidence

Cosun extracted the components and developed an analysis method for the bitter component mix. This enabled us to identify which combination of bitter components works best. IRS offered a test location and the practical knowledge of the correct way to spray the crop; a very low dose seems to work best. Wageningen University & Research acted as a helpdesk, where necessary.

Matthew: ‘We wanted to collect evidence and use this to convince crop protection agent manufacturers. Because ensuring that a new agent is granted legal authorisation, even if it is organic, is a specific specialism that demands many steps. It’s not our aim to become experts in this. We are developers and simply want to supply the ingredient.’

The evidence was produced. A crop protection agent manufacturer is now interested and aims to conduct its own tests. ‘I’m expecting an antifungal agent based on our bitter components to be available within three years’, Matthew says.

Biobased and circular

Using plants as raw material and product streams that are reused, CHIBA is contributing to a biobased economy; an important step en route to a circular economy. Examples other than anti-fungal are personal care products without harmful microplastics and carbon from biomass, which is used to create plastic. ‘We make much better use of the chicory roots now as we not only extract the dietary fibre inulin but also other usable substances from those roots. We also collect roots from endive forcers. These roots are usually used as animal feed. We now extract more from these roots and return the crops to the land in the form of a natural crop protection agent’, Matthew says. ‘The time is ripe for more plant-based raw materials. Activities we’ve been involved in for some time are now popular among a broad audience.

Cosun Groeikracht

Joining forces

‘We can make this positive story more impactful by working together throughout the chain. Together we can safeguard future-proof, sustainable, and profitable cultivation. The kind of agriculture that can be maintained. Groeikracht combines the strengths of potato, sugar beet, and chicory growers with Cosun’s’, Gert Sikken, Director of Agro Development at Cosun, explains.

The growers offer their expertise and experiences of cultivation. Cosun links this to its knowledge of processing and innovation and its contacts with governments, research institutes, interest groups and companies. The active development and sharing of knowledge paves the way for improvements.

Three fronts

Groeikracht is concentrating on three focus areas:

  • It brings growers together, physically and online, to share knowledge and experiences and exchange ideas.
  • It implements projects and innovations on the land for crop improvement and sustainability, like Fascinating.
  • It shares positive farming stories with society.

Regaining recognition

There are plenty of examples of how farmers work on future-proof cultivation. Project Natuurakker 2.0, for instance, also falls under Groeikracht and is a strip-tillage project in West-Brabant. This long-term study aims to determine whether profitable cultivation and nature development can go hand in hand. And there are other projects too: mechanical weed control to be less dependent on chemical herbicides, digitisation and smart data use to take smart cultivation decisions or measures to improve soil quality.

Through the open Groeikracht network, growers can share experiences and receive tips relating to various themes. Together we know much more than individual entrepreneurs or consultants.

‘We will be communicating the positive agriculture story more intensively to regain societal recognition’, Gert explains. ‘What do growers do and why? We aim to highlight progress in future-proof agriculture to improve the profitability and the image of growers.’

Energy neutral with solar panels

Future-proof agriculture

Together with his brother, Peter van den Hoek runs an arable farm in the municipality of Hoeksche Waard, south of Rotterdam. An area that is surrounded by three different rivers, making it an area with a lot of fertile clay soil. It is not surprising that it is the largest arable municipality in the province of South Holland. On the 200-hectare farm, Peter and his brother grow potatoes, sugar beets, onions, kidney beans and wheat.

Like their colleagues, Peter and his brother are concerned with the business of twenty years from now. Investments cost time and money, and do not pay for itself overnight. Having and keeping a future-proof company is their motivation to continuously look at things that can be done better and to make the right investments that are profitable in the long term.

Advantages of solar power

Peter is already noticing benefits for the company with the investment in the solar panels. Both in terms of own energy consumption and supplying to the electricity grid.

“The mechanical cooling of the potatoes comes on as soon as the sun shines. The temperature of the potatoes is a constant 7 degrees. And all with our own energy. Thanks to the solar panels, our company is energy neutral,” he says visibly proudly.