Sustainable Together
Recently, Royal Cosun signed two important agreements for a more sustainable future.
On 10 October, together with Sophie Hermans, Minister of Climate and Green Growth, we signed the Expression of Principles that form the basis for future binding Tailormade Agreements. These agreements focus on CO2 reduction and improving the living environment. With this signing, we express our above-legal ambitions, fully in line with our Unlock strategy. In return, we receive active financial and non-financial support from the government and provinces. This support helps us accelerate our sustainability projects. The government will proactively think along about subsidy opportunities and solving bottlenecks in legislation and permit processes.
Above NL; equal to SBTI
“The reduction ambitions we have agreed with the government are 100,000 tonnes below the amount of CO2 for which we would have to pay CO2 tax in the Netherlands in 2030,” says Sustainability Manager Margot Nelis. “At the same time, the list of projects to be carried out for the six production locations within the scope of customisation (for CBC Dinteloord and Vierverlaten) is not more demanding than those required to achieve Cosun’s goals according to SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative).”
Scope 1, 2, 3
Part of these SBTI targets are the so-called scope 3 emissions. These are the emissions of our partners in the value chain. “We have mapped these out. The next step is to work with our chain partners on reduction.”
Collaboration in the Chain
A good example is the Low Carbon Farming pilot with one of our major customers. “We recently signed the contract for this pilot. Together, we will look at how we can make sugar beet cultivation more sustainable, for example by using cover crops and precision fertilisation. Over the next three years, ten of our growers will test various measures. The knowledge we gain about possible transition measures will be shared with all growers. Meanwhile, participants in the pilot will receive compensation from the customer for the extra costs and any loss of yield.”
From the Market
Margot sees this pilot as an important step in the right direction. “It is a very good sign that this initiative is coming from the market. This is the direction we want to go: sustainable together. This pilot is a great start where all links in the chain work together towards a common goal, a future-proof sugar chain.”