Corporate Social Responsibility....Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an important foundation...
Transcript of Corporate Social Responsibility....Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an important foundation...
Report 2019.
Corporate Social Responsibility.
In recent years, the world has embraced the crucial
importance of sustainable business practices, and of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an important
foundation and guiding principle for companies’
success and impact. At Zeelandia we wholeheartedly
subscribe to this philosophy. Our ambition is to initiate
and further intensify the dialogue with our customers,
consumers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders
on how Zeelandia can play its part. This CSR report aims
to facilitate this dialogue, by clearly stating our CSR
ambitions, our actions, progress as well as dilemmas.
Corporate social responsibility has always been an integral
part of Zeelandia’s company culture, from its beginnings
in the Netherlands 120 years ago to our current position
as a global leader in bakery ingredients. As a successful
family-owned business with strong roots in our local
communities around the world, we have always had a
strong sense of responsibility for our people, for society
as a whole and for the natural environment. CSR is
strongly embedded in our values and business practices
and we recognize it as a crucial enabler of the company’s
sustainable success.
Evidence of this commitment is not hard to find. This
CSR report highlights some of the hundreds of current
initiatives throughout our international organization
to reduce our environmental impact, to look after the
safety and well-being of employees, to scrutinize the
safety and nutritional value of our products and to make
a meaningful contribution to our local communities. And
these initiatives are underpinned by a strong corporate
commitment, reflected by a new, company-wide CSR
Preface
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strategy which was introduced in 2019, and which in turn
is a crucial pillar of our overall corporate strategy.
This CSR report describes the outlines of this strategy,
our specific commitments and the action plan we have
drawn up for the short term. All of these focus on the
four CSR areas in which we believe we can have the most
meaningful impact:
• Better for consumers (safe and healthy products)
• Better for employees (health, safety and
professional growth)
• Clean energy
• Zero waste
As this report illustrates, our approach is characterized
by longer term ambitions as well as practical progress.
It builds on our strengths: it engages and empowers our
local organizations to take responsibility for their own
performance, and at the same time allows us to join forces
and resources and accelerate progress by working as One
Zeelandia.
Of course, challenges remain. For example, as our
production volumes grow and the nature of our product
portfolio changes, reducing CO2 emissions is not easy:
yet our clear commitment is to become a CO2-neutral
company. We will continue to invest in R&D and product
development of ingredients that contribute to a healthy
lifestyle, and around the world we will intensify our efforts
to attract, engage and empower a diverse workforce. And
although the COVID-19 crisis has presented the world,
including our company, with new and urgent challenges,
it has only reinforced our conviction that CSR is an crucial
part of the route towards sustainable growth, impact and
success.
We are also acutely aware of the fact that real progress
requires a shared commitment throughout the supply
chain. Publishing this report is one of the many ways in
which we seek to intensify the dialogue and constructive
cooperation with other stakeholders, including our
customers and suppliers. It is our sincere hope that this
report will help our own organization as well as our
stakeholders to carry on the momentum CSR has gained
in recent years, enabling us all to maximize our impact
on the health and prosperity of our communities and our
planet.
Executive Board, Royal Zeelandia Group
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CSR @ Zeelandia 06
Governance & transparency 12
Better for consumers 20
Better for employees 25
Clean energy 31
Zero Waste 37
Community support 43
Looking ahead 48Contents.
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3,224 employees.
27 countries.
472 million euros.
Our people. Zeelandia employs 3,224 people
worldwide (including joint ventures).
Together with our suppliers they explore
new ingredients and more sustainable
production processes, to meet the growing
demand for healthy, nutritious bread and
pastry products made from responsibly
sourced ingredients.
Our product portfolio covers thousands
of products and includes bread and
pastry mixes, bread improvers, fermented
products, pastry fillings (including fruit),
coatings as well as release agents. The
products are tailored to local tastes and
needs in over 100 countries.
Our customers include bakeries of all
sizes, from small artisanal bakeries to
large industrial bakeries catering for
(international) retail chains and out-of-
home outlets. Zeelandia exports to around
70 countries and in 2019 registered total
net consolidated sales amounting to
472 million euros.
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CSR @Zeelandia
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2019 was a pivotal year in the development of Zeelandia’s CSR ambitions. Although CSR has been a prominent part of our company’s philosophy and business practices for years, for the first time we have formalised that commitment in the form of a group-wide CSR strategy. Also, CSR was included in a new overall group strategy as one of the two most fundamental enablers of future growth.
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The importance of CSR has been recognized
throughout the Zeelandia Group for many years.
Individual countries have invested in areas such as
energy efficiency, waste reduction and the well-
being of our employees and local communities. On a
corporate level, we support such initiatives by sharing
knowledge and resources, and by developing effective
policies and business practices in areas such as ethical
and sustainable procurement. We maintain high
standards in food safety and have been monitoring our
environmental impact for years, aiming for year-on-year
reductions in CO2 emissions and waste production.
In a way, such efforts are a natural expression of our
company values. Like many other family businesses,
Zeelandia is used to taking a long-term view and
has a strong sense of responsibility when it comes
to looking after people and contributing to our local
communities. Increasingly, this natural commitment to
CSR is strengthened by the awareness that sustainable
business practices are in line with customer and
consumer demand, and that CSR initiatives are essential
to ensure sustainable success.
Accelerating progress through a CSR strategy
Evidence of this strong commitment to CSR is not hard
to find. In 2019 we counted no fewer than 431 separate
CSR initiatives throughout the group, most of them
carried out by individual countries, often with corporate
support.
A key question in recent years has been how to
streamline all these efforts and maximize their impact.
It was clear we needed a group-wide CSR strategy
in order to focus our energy and resources and set
priorities. A strategy provides a framework for better
reporting, using unified KPIs, which in turn enables
countries to benchmark their own performance
against that of their peers. A CSR strategy also provides
a platform for sharing best practices and pooling
resources, allowing us to accelerate the most important
initiatives and implement them throughout the group.
For Zeelandia CSR is one of the most fundamental enablers of future growth
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In short, a strategy would enable us to work together and
achieve results as One Zeelandia.
At the same time, our goal is not to centralize
responsibility for CSR. We want to preserve and encourage
the initiative, commitment and ownership displayed by
individual countries. This is in line with Zeelandia’s overall
organizational philosophy, which recognizes that our
companies all operate in a specific cultural context, with
different local issues, market demands and regulatory
frameworks. In all aspects of our business, including
CSR, we want to enable and empower our companies
to take responsibility for their own performance as well
as to contribute to (and share responsibility for) the
achievements of the group as a whole.
CSR: a pillar in Zeelandia’s group strategy
In 2019 Zeelandia finalized its new group strategy for
the period 2019 – 2023. From a CSR perspective it was
an important milestone, since CSR is explicitly included
in this document as one the two most fundamental
enablers of our strategic goals, alongside human
resources:
The group strategy identifies the key areas in which
we want to focus our efforts. These are based on an
extensive stakeholder analysis from 2018 in which a
large number of internal and external stakeholders
were asked to prioritize the CSR areas of most concern
to them. The topics included in this survey were closely
linked to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
and were plotted in a materiality index. This exercise
allowed us to identify four areas in which Zeelandia can
have a large and meaningful impact:
CSR helps the company to meet the demands of customers, consumers, the government and society in general.
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Better for consumers
Our ambition: We take responsibility for the consistency and
quality of our products. Our product range matches the latest
knowledge about the impact of food products on consumer health
and we are transparent in terms of raw materials and ingredients.
Better for employees
Our ambition: We are an attractive employer, recruiting,
developing, fostering, engaging and retaining a diversity of talent.
We create an environment in which employees can flourish and
stay fit and productive until retirement, aiming for an 80% score
on employee engagement.
Clean energy
Our ambition: We actively contribute to the transition to
renewable energy and work to reduce our greenhouse gas
emissions. We aspire to be climate neutral.
Zero Waste
Our ambition: we reduce food waste and recycle other types
of waste into new raw materials, contributing to the circular
economy. Our ultimate ambition is zero waste.
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In addition to the general outlines of our CSR policy as
described in our group strategy, a specific CSR strategy
was developed in 2019, which includes group-wide
ambitions for 2023 and describes the process by which
we want to achieve them.
In addition to the CSR strategy, which has the same
time horizon as the overall corporate strategy, we drew
up an action plan for 2020 to implement these strategic
choices into our daily business. This action plan, as
well as the accompanying governance model we have
implemented, is described in more detail in the next
chapter, Governance & transparency.
A CSR strategy and action plan for 2020.
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Governanceand transparency
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By incorporating CSR into our overall strategy and
formulating ambitions, Zeelandia has committed itself
to making substantial progress over the next few years.
A crucial next question is how to achieve our ambitions.
This will require a pragmatic action plan, effective
governance models and strong engagement with both
our own employees and supply chain partners.
In 2019 we decided on a CSR strategy for the period
2019-2023. We also drew up an action plan in order
to implement our strategic choices into our everyday
work. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, our
goal is to work as One Zeelandia where possible, while
empowering individual countries to take responsibility
for their own performance. Our action plan reflects
this approach by combining top-down and bottom-up
elements:
1. Joint CSR projects
Based on the four chosen CSR topics and the list of
over 400 existing CSR initiatives, we have identified
eight group-wide projects in which we can accelerate
progress by clustering initiatives and pooling resources:
Better for employees
Better for consumers
Clean Energy
Zero Waste
Contract green power NL.
Solar panels best practice.
Healthy working conditions.
Waste reduction continuous improvement.
Recycle ready packaging - pilot for NL/BE.
Reduction of plastic.
Low calory - innovation concepts.
Plant based - innovation concepts.
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Each of these projects will be led by a small team which
includes representatives from countries which have
already made substantial progress. For example, in the
Netherlands much has already been done to prepare
for the transition to 100% green electricity. Through
one of the eight joint CSR projects, this experience will
be shared with other countries who can model their
own green energy contracts on the Dutch template and
benefit from the insights and lessons learned by Dutch
colleagues.
2. CSR ambassadors
A governance model was established to ensure a two-
way commitment between Zeelandia’s corporate
departments and local companies: as a group we
value and encourage local initiative, while we expect
countries to adopt standards and tools that emerge
from joint CSR projects.
In this approach a crucial role is played by newly
appointed CSR ambassadors. In 2019 a network of
ambassadors from 28 countries was set up. These
ambassadors meet online on a monthly basis and
have access to an intranet platform to discuss
progress in the eight projects described above and
report on local ambitions, plans and best practices.
In their local organizations, the ambassadors’ role is
to share information, collect feedback and promote
awareness of and commitment to CSR topics. The CSR
ambassadors all volunteered for the role, demonstrating
their enthusiasm and commitment, and were selected
by their managing director to ensure they have the
support of their local management team.
In 2019 a network of CSR ambassadors from 28 countries was set up.
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Our CSR ambassadors.
The CSR ambassadors form an international community with a very wide range of backgrounds, representing all functions within Zeelandia: specialists in areas such as QA, environment or safety, but also key account managers, marketeers, factory managers, management assistants and IT, R&D, logistics and HR managers. Some also have a communications background, which will be helpful as we enter the next phase, of engaging with local colleagues. 60% of the ambassadors are female; the team is a mix of very experienced professionals and young new employees.
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One of the younger ambassadors is a test baker who just joined Zeelandia after graduating from university. Her focus, she explains, is on “employee health, as I believe that a healthy person is a happier person. I would also like to work with our marketing department to show how Zeelandia’s products can help the consumer achieve a healthy and balanced diet. The Silkgrain range for example contains a high level of fibre, and there is lots of research to show that a diet high in fibre could reduce the risk of bowel cancer - this is something we could look into promoting.” Another ambassador, who has worked on CSR for years, adds: “We are a sales
office and realized many initiatives in the past few years. Last year we needed some new ideas for further improvement and the list of initiatives helped a lot. We have selected 6 initiatives from the list and I will give a call to my fellow ambassadors to hear their experiences.”
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Reporting mechanisms
As we move forward as a group, we need to be
able to assess our progress objectively, reliably and
transparently. In recent years, we have implemented
reporting mechanisms on several levels and in various
areas of CSR. For example, in monthly video calls
operational departments report on their performance
in the areas of safety and waste. Energy and recycling
are reported locally and consolidated annually. In
addition to sharing data and KPIs, participants also
share background information and lessons learnt: for
example, in safety discussions it is important to be open
and transparent on near-misses.
An important aspect we continue to work on, is to
improve group-wide data collection and reporting
discipline, using standardized KPIs. This touches all
areas covered by our CSR strategy, but is especially
important when assessing our environmental footprint.
For years, we have collected and aggregated data on
individual countries’ ecological footprint. Since 2012
we have been using Stimular’s ‘Envirometer tool’ to
measure our environmental impact in three focus areas:
transport, energy and waste. Yet due to the wide variety
of site and process characteristics and the resulting
differences in data definitions, it has proved challenging
to aggregate a 100% reliable overall picture. In 2019 we
agreed on a road map for further harmonization of data
over the next few years.
Building CSR engagement
While company-wide CSR initiatives and reporting
mechanisms are crucial, we cannot hope to achieve our
goals without the wholehearted support of our over
3,000 employees and other stakeholders. CSR needs
to be an integral part of every colleague’s everyday
work. In 2019 we took some vital steps in building CSR
engagement. For example, we prepared a group-wide
code of conduct and whistleblowing policy, which will
be rolled out from 2020 onwards.
CSR needs to be an integral part of every colleague’s everyday work
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The network of CSR ambassadors described above will
also play a crucial role in building CSR engagement.
One of the criteria used in selecting them was that they
should be excellent communicators, since in the next
phase their role will include engaging local colleagues,
using newsletters and social media to support change
management and helping to integrate CSR into people’s
everyday work.
Investing in a sustainable supply chain
While our first responsibility is to make sure our own
choices and actions conform to high CSR standards, it is
important to recognize that we are part of a global and
often complex supply chain. In view of the substantial
volumes we purchase from suppliers, we have the
opportunity and responsibility to carry on a sustained
dialogue and influence their decision-making. For
example, we are committed to buying only sustainably
sourced palm oil.
Zeelandia believes that palm oil is to be produced in a
manner that is legally compliant and traceable, that
protects forests and biodiversity, reduces greenhouse
gas emissions and respects the rights of indigenous
people, workers and local communities.
Zeelandia’s objective is to realize a transfer to
purchasing only ingredients and/or products that entail
100% certified Segregated sustainable palm oil. This is
complemented with certified Mass-Balance sustainable
palm oil when Segregated sustainable palm oil is not
possible, and depends on local availability.
Zeelandia proactively participates in the Palm Oil Buyers
Scorecard and is a member of RSPO since 2015.
Our biggest challenge has been to convert a multitude
of ingredients containing only a small percentage of
palm oil to a Segregated supply chain model, convincing
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suppliers of the need to adopt sustainable palm oil and
creating this change without a loss of functionality.
In total, we needed to convert 81 ingredients with
34 suppliers which took us two years to do so, including
the testing of the new ingredients in our product
applications.
By December 2019 over 99% of the palm oil we use
in Europe is certified sustainable palm oil (and > 95%
certified segregated palm oil).
Another important aspect of our purchasing policy is to
look at the ethical side of our supply chain. Throughout
the group we have taken steps to select suppliers who
actively support and implement our ethical guidelines.
Through our membership of trade body NEBAFA,
Zeelandia is a signatory of the Dutch International
Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) Agreement for
the Food Products Sector. This is in line with Zeelandia’s
long-held commitment to conducting business in
a responsible way, by preventing corruption and by
promoting respect for human rights, labour rights,
people’s health, safety and the environment. IRBC
signatories are expected to identify, prevent and reduce
risks throughout the supply chain. In 2019 we submitted
our first risk management report for assessment. We
received some recommendations for improvement,
which were promptly implemented.
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Better for consumersSafe, healthy and nutritious
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We take responsibility for the consistency and quality of our products. Our product range matches the latest knowledge about the impact of food products on consumer health and we are transparent in terms of raw materials and ingredients.
Our strategic goals for 2023
• We enable healthier diets, by providing transparent
information on ingredients, nutrition and health,
application and portion sizes
• We improve the nutritional value of our products,
reduce salt and sugar content and calorie count, and
we develop and launch at least one healthy product
concept each year
• We are compliant with food safety requirements and
hold a global GFSI certification.
As a producer of bakery ingredients, Zeelandia has
a direct impact on public health and responsible
consumption patterns, two of the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals. We need to ensure the safety of our
products, take responsibility for their nutritional value
and give customers and consumers the information
they need to make informed decisions.
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Protecting and improving food safety
To guarantee food safety, our production facilities exceed
HACCP standards (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points). Depending on local market requirements, our
facilities are certified by Global Food Safety Initiative
standards such as BRC, IFS and FSCC22000. Our goal is to
keep up to date with regulatory developments as well as
with new demands and requirements from customers, for
example in the management of allergens.
In 2019, we took several steps to offer customers and
consumers extra safeguards concerning the safety of our
products:
• All our sites monitor supplier risks and test incoming
materials. In our largest site in the Netherlands a
team screens the thousands of items in the Rapid
Alert System for Food and Feed for relevance to our
ingredients and takes action if needed. Issues are
shared with the relevant daughter companies. The
team also does food safety risk analyses. 17,000
potential risks were screened, of which 400 are being
actively managed and monitored. This is also done for
our production processes and packaging materials.
If a supplied ingredient is not meeting food safety
requirements, a crisis team takes over to control the
situation immediately.
Initiatives and achievements.
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• In Poland, we took the emphasis on personal hygiene
to an even higher level by introducing easy-to-
use equipment that can quickly detect food and
microbiological residues.
Ensuring food safety involves meeting international
standards and relevant national legislation as well as
specific demands from customers. This implies that
each production facility within the Zeelandia Group
is responsible for monitoring local developments and
regulations and making any necessary changes in their
production process. And of course, taking responsibility
for food safety requires a proactive attitude, being alert
to possible improvements and ready to take action,
rather than waiting for relevant legislation to take
effect.
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Healthy and nutritious food
Based on a continuous dialogue with (external)
stakeholders and experts, our R&D and Marketing
departments have developed innovation platforms
around the theme ‘Better for consumers’. These
platforms help us to translate consumer trends and
demands into new products.
Together with (local) product development, these
platforms have already led to a number of product
launches, which help customers make bread and pastry
products that are low in salt, fat and sugar and/or rich
in fibre, protein and vitamins.
• In Germany we launched two clean-label and wheat
gluten-free bread mixes: pure & JOY, which is rich in
protein and fiber, and Maximo Fresh, which is made
from alternative, sustainable raw materials, in this
case sunflower flour.
• In Belgium, all our products are labelled with a
‘Nutri-Score’, a third-party classification system with
categories ranging from A (healthy choice) to E
(to be avoided).
• Various countries introduced low-sugar or sugar-free
products, including Spain (vanilla filling), Brazil (zero
sugar filling), India/Middle East/Africa (sugar-free
jams and low-sugar cake mix) and the Netherlands
(jams with added fibres and/or sugar substitutes).
• Spain introduced a range of cake mixes with fruit
content, while India and Indonesia launched a
multicereal cake mix.
One of the short-term goals in our new CSR strategy
is to intensify these efforts. Two of the group-wide
projects defined in 2019 (see p. 13) focus on low-calorie
and plant-based innovations respectively. R&D and our
Centres of Expertise have already started work on new
food concepts, which are expected to be ready for the
next stage – product development – in 2020.
We launch more and more products which help customers make bread and pastry products that are low in salt, fat and sugar and/or rich in fibre, protein and vitamins
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Better for employeesHealthy & engaged
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We are an attractive employer, recruiting, developing, fostering, engaging and retaining a diversity of talent. We create an environment in which employees can flourish and deliver results as a OneZeelandia team, and in which they can stay fit and productive until retirement, resulting in an 80% employee engagement score.
Zeelandia protects the health and well-being of
employees by providing a safe working environment
and by fostering their personal and professional
development. Our efforts are guided by a continuous
dialogue with employees themselves, including
structural employee engagement surveys. In this way
we support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of
ensuring quality education, decent work and economic
growth for all. It is also crucial for the company’s
success, which depends on the energy, initiative and
commitment of healthy, engaged employees.
Our strategic goals for 2023
• We use group-wide standards for safety at work and
reduction of dust and heavy labour
• We involve people in change and create engagement,
using a standardized employee survey
• We hire talent from diverse background and invest in
developing their potential through lifelong learning
• We share best practices through a thriving CSR
community
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A safe working environment is a basic prerequisite that
everyone working at Zeelandia should be able to count
on, under all circumstances. Subsidiaries and joint
ventures are expected to stimulate safety awareness
among employees, to develop adequate reporting
mechanisms and to take measures to mitigate
safety risks. We also need to protect our employees’
long-term health, by reducing physical strain and
mitigating exposure to dust and other substances with
a potentially damaging effect on people’s health. Our
long-term goal is zero accidents, zero health damage
and zero emergencies.
In 2019 the Corporate HR vision and mission, the
‘Zeelandia Smiley Concept’ was further implemented
within the group. In order to deliver a strong
contribution to the achievement of our strategic goals,
Corporate HR strongly focuses on a high level of people
enablement and engagement. In 2019 this led to the
further development and strengthening of the corporate
HR mission and One Zeelandia vision. An international
HR community was set up and we established further
alignment between corporate HR, local MDs and line
management. Also, corporate HR standards were
designed, developed and implemented, and we continued
implementing the Personal Development Plan (PDP).
In this PDP system, target setting is not only based on
performance targets but development and behavioural
targets are included as well. Behavioural targets in
particular will be valuable as we work towards the targets
laid down in the CSR programme. The system also helps us
to focus not just on achieving the targets themselves but
also on the way in which we achieve them.
Initiatives and achievements.
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Local and corporate initiatives that have contributed
towards this goal in 2019 include the following:
• In Brazil, Emulzint Zeelandia implemented Golden
Rules for Work Safety, which are discussed at the
start of every meeting, training session etc. The
Safety Pyramid, a tool used for identifying possible
improvements, generated 334 suggestions, 87% of
which had been implemented by the end of the year.
Specific training was provided for emergency fire
brigade staff, outsourced technicians, people working
at heights and sales personnel who spend a lot of time
on the road. In May, a whole week was dedicated to a
range of initiatives aimed at preventing occupational
accidents.
• In its Czech production plants, Zeelandia invested
in various measures to improve safety and working
conditions, such as a pallet lift, an automated safety
bar to prevent falling from height and dust extraction
equipment.
• In Poland, extensive first aid stations were designed
and placed at key locations in the factory.
• Corporate specialists have developed best practices
for dust control on several levels, including equipment
design guidelines.
Golden rules for safety in Brazil
First aid stations in Poland
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Employee enablement & engagement, diversity
and talent management
Research has shown time and again that both employee
engagement and a diverse workforce have a direct
and substantial impact on a company’s bottom line.
Zeelandia’s HR strategy therefore seeks to attract and
recruit a diverse pool of talent. We also want to ensure
they are highly enabled and engaged and receive the
support they need to make the most of their talents
and deliver the best possible results for the company.
That includes measures that guarantee a safe and
transparent workplace, such as a clear code of conduct
and robust mechanisms for reporting violations.
Local and corporate initiatives that have contributed
towards this goal in 2019 include the following:
• In Germany, employees are encouraged to invest in their
own professional development and to share what they
have learnt during training courses with colleagues.
An innovative learning app was also introduced, while
managers and sales representatives have received
resilience training to help them deal with pressures
and stressful situations. Other initiatives focus on
reintegration management after illness and on the
integration of (severely) disabled employees.
Knowledgefox
KnowledgeFox is an innovative learning software and revolutionary learning method.
It saves time and helps to build sustainable knowledge.
Based on research by Nobel laureate Eric Kandel, knowledge is acquired in small but regular steps.
Knowledgefox
We train employees on many topics such as
• Fire protection training (annually)• Occupational safety (annually)• Sales strategies• General data protection regulation (annually)
After successful finish, each employee receives a certificate.
Training management for external training
• Executives can suggest trainings for their employees to ensure continuous development
• The training can include all topics which the employee should be trained in
• To ensure knowledge transfer the employee summarizes the most important points after the training
Continuous development in Germany
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• In Indonesia, our local HR department introduced
competency-based recruitment techniques and
invested in company branding to ensure its ability to
attract and recruit a diversity of talent. It also prepared
the implementation of performance development
plans, transparent job evaluations and launched a
training portal.
• In the Czech Republic, Zeelandia set up an employee
committee as a liaison between management
and employees and introduced special boxes for
employees to submit ideas and any complaints. In
Poland, too, we implemented a confidential reporting
system to raise any concerns on issues such as product
safety, integrity and quality.
Brazil
Great place to work
• In Brazil Emulzint Zeelandia again celebrated
International Women’s Day to highlight the presence
and importance of women in our organisation. At
Emulzint Zeelandia, women make up 20.84% of the
workforce, and out of that group 21% hold a leadership
position.
• In many countries employee engagement and
satisfaction surveys were carried out to measure
progress and identify areas for improvement. In
Greece, Zeelandia registered a score of 80% in the
Great Place to Work survey; Italy even registered a
score of 81%.
International women’s day in Brazil
Confidential reporting in Poland
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Our achievements in 2019
Clean energy.
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We actively contribute to the transition to renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gases.
In order to reduce our ecological footprint, we seek to
reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, working towards
a carbon-neutral future. We do this by investing in
increased energy efficiency and by switching from
fossil to renewable energy sources where possible and
feasible. In this way, we contribute to several of the
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (Affordable and
clean energy, Responsible consumption and production,
Climate action and Life below water).
Our strategic goals for 2023
• We reduce water, energy and fuel consumption.
• We use renewable energy, which will enable us to
reduce our carbon footprint to zero.
2019: Initiatives and achievements
Since 2012 we have been using Stimular’s ‘Envirometer
tool’ to measure our environmental impact in the focus
areas of energy and waste.
Reducing energy and fuel consumption
For years, we have collected and aggregated data on
individual countries’ ecological footprint. In 2019 we
took further steps in improving data collection and
reporting discipline, starting with the functions with the
largest impact: production, warehousing and logistics.
In monthly video calls the operations managers share
their results and improvements. A road map for further
harmonization of data has been agreed on (see p. 17).
Our carbon footprint currently amounts to 0.113 kg
CO2 per kg production. Major contributors to CO2
emissions are electricity (50.8%), fuel & heat (17.6%)
and freight transport (23.8%). These values are based
on consolidated data from many operating companies.
Because of differences in data definitions and KPIs they
should be viewed as estimates. The figures are based
on direct emissions (scope 1) and indirect emissions
(scope 2 and 3). Scope 3 data (indirect emissions other
than from energy purchased) vary widely due to
local differences and incomplete registration (since
many countries have outsourced their transport
32
and distribution). In 2019 our scope 3 reporting was
expanded to include (part of) our business travel, to
create awareness of the impact of air transport on our
overall footprint. In the coming years we will finetune
the scope and data registration.
0,090,080,070,060,050,040,030,020,01
02015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Fuels&heat Electricity Sum
CO2 emissions from fuels&heat and electricityin kg CO2 per kg production
• Electricity 50,8%• Fuels & heat 17,6%• Freight transport 23,6%• Business traffic 6,35%• Other 1,7%
This graph shows our CO2 footprint from energy
consumption, which is responsible for 68.4%
of our CO2 footprint. Data on energy is reliable
and can be consolidated. The conversion factor
used to translate energy consumption into CO2
emissions is derived from a Dutch standard (the
Milieubarometer). The standard conversion factor
increased 23% in 2018 due to the shift from natural
gas to coal usage in the national power plants. This
explains the rise in the CO2 emission graph in 2018.
33
Our energy consumption in 2019 totalled 50 million
kWh. Fuel and heat consumption decreased. Electricity
consumption was relatively stable in 2019, but over the
years we see a rising trend.
Our overall energy consumption tends to grow because
of growing production volumes, additional factories
in new countries and more automated production
lines and because of a structural shift in our portfolio
from powders to paste and liquid products (which are
We encourage individual companies to achieve year-on-year reductions in their energy use, carbon emissions, water consumption and waste production.
more energy-intensive). To offset this increase, we
encourage individual companies to achieve year-on-
year reductions in their energy use, carbon emissions,
water consumption and waste production. To help
them achieve this, they can count on the support of
corporate experts and adopt best practices from other
countries, which are shared in monthly evaluations
with operational departments as well as through the
network of CSR ambassadors that was set up in 2019.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
KWH
Tho
usan
ds
KZG Total Energy consumption35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
ElectricityFuel and heat
Lineair (Electricity)Lineair (Fuel and heat)
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Purc
hase
d el
ectr
icity
Source of electricity100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Purchased electricity - green electricity Purchased electricity - otherPower generator Self generated electricity - solar
Self
gene
rate
d el
ectr
icity
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
34
Local initiatives to reduce water, energy and fuel
consumption in 2019 include the following:
• Zeelandia South Africa replaced part of its roof with
fibreglass material to make the most of daylight and
ensure that lights need not be switched on during the
day.
• In Brazil, extra LED lighting was installed in the factory,
taking the total proportion of LEDs within the local
lighting infrastructure to 80%. This represents a total
decrease in energy consumption of over 130,000 kWh
per year.
• In Belgium, transport routes were optimized, resulting
in a substantial reduction of CO2 emissions.
• In the Netherlands 4 roof fans for ventilation were
replaced by modern and more efficient technology,
resulting in an annual saving of 20,000 kWh per year.
Other measures included the installation of more
LED lights, infrared camera screening of our historical
office buildings to find heat leaks, and training of
facilities’ staff to help them identify energy-saving
opportunities.
Clean, renewable energy
An important strategic goal for 2023 is to use only green
electricity. Currently, 29% of our electricity is derived
from renewable sources. In 2019 we started work on
two group projects which will substantially increase this
percentage.
The first project is aimed at covering the roofs of
our buildings with solar panels. This could raise our
percentage of self-generated green power from the
current 1.5% to over 20%. The business case for solar
installations depends on local power prices, subsidies
and financing costs, and may include partnerships with
third-party developers. A second project explores the
possibility of a long-term contract under which a
third-party investor would install a large windmill,
providing 100% green electricity for Zeelandia in the
Netherlands. By deriving power directly from a specific
windmill, this electricity would be truly green. The
findings from these two projects will be shared with
other countries to facilitate their transition to 100%
green energy.
35
It is important to stress that while these two projects
have been set up to accelerate our progress as a group,
many individual countries have already taken the
initiative to increase the share of renewables in their
energy mix. For example:
• In Brazil, our use of renewable energy sources
(certified) saved 170 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
• In Italy, Zeelandia uses only electricity from renewable
sources.
36
Zero waste Our achievements in 2019
37
Our objective is to reduce waste and to recycle as
much of the remaining waste as possible, in a way
that facilitates reuse in various applications. In this
way, we contribute to several of the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals (Responsible consumption &
production, Climate action and Life below water). In
order to track our progress, we have been monitoring
group-wide waste production since 2012, using the
Envirometer tool (see p. 17).
Our strategic goals for 2023
• We reduce food waste in our value chain to less than
1% of our sales volume.
• We sort more than 90% of our waste for recycling.
2019: initiatives and achievements
We differentiate between two main categories of waste:
• Commercial waste, much of which can be recycled (for
example: food waste, wooden pallets, paper, metals)
• Hazardous waste: a very small category, which is taken
care of by specialist companies.
We recycle >90% of our waste.
In 2019 we achieved
encouraging results,
especially in the area of
food waste.
Hazardous waste 14 mtsAnnual average € 4K
20181614121086420
MTS
(‘00
0)
Euro
(‘00
0)
Hazardous waste7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Quantity Economic costs (euro)
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Commercial waste 66,000 mtsAnnual average € 120K
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
MTS
(‘00
0)
Euro
(‘00
0)Commercial waste
300
250
200
150
100
50
02015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Quantity Economic costs (euro)
38
The cost and environmental impact of
commercial waste are strongly linked to
how easily this waste can be recycled into
a valuable raw material. Sorting of waste is
therefore essential. In 2019 83% of waste was
sorted, resulting in 0.0037 kg of unsorted
waste/kg product (0.37%).
Sorted commercial waste consists of food
waste and non-food waste (such as paper,
plastic, wood and metals). Food waste is
generated in our factories and in the supply
chain (warehousing and transport).
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
MTS
Composition of commercial waste3,500.00
3,000.00
2,500.00
2,000.00
1,500.00
1,000.00
500.00
Sorted - Food
Unsorted
Sorted - Non-food
Linear (Sorted - Food)
Total waste5.552 MTS
Commercial waste5.535 MTS
Hazardous waste17 MTS
Sorted4.650 MTS
Unsorted885 MTS
Food1.940 MTS
Non-food2.710 MTS
Paper1.268 MTS
Plastic362 MTS
Other 122 MTS
Wood 685 MTS
Organic waste198 MTS
Metal75 MTS
39
In 2019 food waste fell by almost 30%, which meant we
have already achieved our strategic goal of reducing
food waste in our value chain to less than 1% of sales
volume. One measure we paid special attention to in
2019 was to optimizing production planning and stock
monitoring. Better planning reduces the number of
products with an expired sell-by date and the amount
of biodegradable waste caused by cleaning in between
production runs.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
%
Food waste as a percentage of sales volume
2 %
1,5%
1%
0,5%
0%
Production waste in relation to production volume
Non-food commercial waste consists of materials which
can be easily recycled, such as wooden pallets, paper
and metals. The volume of non-food waste is closely
linked to the volume of raw materials used.
In 2019 we set up a project (one of the eight strategic
group CSR projects) focusing on improved recycling of
our packaging materials, as a service to our customers.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, we tested a new type
of plastic-free packaging. The absence of plastic makes
the material much easier to recycle.
Added benefits of the new
packaging are that 20% fewer
chemicals are used during
production.
40
In addition to these group-wide initiatives, individual
countries initiated their own measures to reduce and
manage the amount of waste:
• In The Netherlands the amount of unrecycled waste
fell for the 13th year in a row. It is now only roughly 17%
of what it was in 2006. In 2019 the recycling rate was
improved by placing separate containers for paper,
PMD (plastic, metals and drinking cartons) and cups
(including paper swizzle sticks introduced in 2019).
• The Netherlands also registered a reduction in food
waste. In four years the figure has dropped from
around 2.4 million kg to 1.3 million kg. The oil and
fat from the fat trap was collected for recycling into
biodiesel.
• In 2019, our Brazilian subsidiary Emulzint Zeelandia
became a “Zero Aterro” company (Zero Landfill).
Organic and non-recyclable residues are now made
into specific materials that serve as a source of energy
for cement industry furnaces.
• Zeelandia South Africa established a new partnership
with a specialist company to improve recycling of
paper and plastic from its manufacturing site as well
as office paper.
• In Indonesia, powder waste is recycled by a third party
as an ingredient for fish feed.
Bak vol, geef het door aan facilities
Vanaf 20 juli komen er op centrale plaatsen in de Binnenstad en Zuidhoek centrale inzamelbakken bij o.a. dekoffieautomaten. De huidige prullenbakjes vervallen. Met de centrale inzamelbakken gaan we papier, koffiebekers en PMD (plastic, metalen blikjes en drankpakken) en restafval gescheiden inzamelen en afvoeren.
Doe mee! Want alleen samen gaan we onze MVO doelstelling, voor het terugdringen van afval halen
We gaan scheiden.
Collecting waste in seperate containers in The Netherlands
41
• In Ukraine, we reduced our waste output by storing
sunflower oil in bulk rather than in plastic bottles,
saving 13.7 tonnes of plastic waste each year. The
percentage of sorted waste overall increased from
76% to 84%.
• Poland achieved a substantial reduction in food waste
(of 41%) through a range of measures, including
more accurate dosing and sensors which indicate
the presence of product in buffer tanks (preventing
accidental filling with other product).
41% food waste reduction
13.7 tons of plastic waste reduction
A silo for bulk oil storage in Urkaine
42
Community support
43
Community support
In addition to the topics that have been prioritized in
our CSR strategy, our corporate responsibility includes
making a meaningful contribution to solving social
issues. Our Business Principles state that we want to
“fulfil the responsibilities to societies and communities
in which the company operates”. As an employer and
food manufacturer we are in an excellent position to
support some of the UN’s key Sustainable Development
Goals, such as eradicating poverty and hunger,
promoting public health and improving the quality of
education.
Community support in action
Instead of working with group-wide targets, each of our
subsidiaries is free to develop programmes that best
meet the needs of their local community. While some
subsidiaries support nationwide or even international
charities such as the World Wildlife Fund and Medicins
Sans Frontières, the emphasis is usually on local
organisations and charities.
For example:
• In Belgium, Zeelandia is a long-standing partner of
G-sport, a charity that wants to enable as many people
with a disability as possible to participate in sports.
• On the very last day of 2019, the area surrounding our
factory in Indonesia was flooded. Zeelandia responded
by handing out bottled water, snacks, cakes and
cleaning agents to residents whose homes had
been flooded.
CSR Activity Report 2019
CSR Management Zeelandia Indonesia
CSR Activity Report #1/Zeelandia Indonesia/Indonesia CSR Ambassador
UPDATES AND NEWS
In the New Year Eve 2020, most areas of Jakarta and its surrounding areas were flooded, including the Tangerang area around the factory. This flood affected dozens of houses around the factory
Responding to this, Zeelandia Indonesia shared to residents affected by flooding. We provide bottled water, snacks, cleaning agents, and cakes made from Zeelandia products. These goods are distributed by our General Affair Team (HR Function)
The cakes are made from our product that available at R&D and Quality, Baking using the equipment they have, and prepared by R&D and QC staff in collaboration with Marketing Team.
Each of our subsidiaries is free to develop programmes that best meet the needs of their local community
44
Donating food and sharing profits
As a food manufacturer, Zeelandia is in an excellent
position to help people in deprived communities by
donating food. In various countries Zeelandia has
established a close cooperation with local food banks.
• Emulzint’s Pao Amigo- mix has been
successfully raising money for a charity that
helps people with disabilities to achieve
their full potential. Since the product’s
launch it has raised funds for over 7,000
physiotherapy sessions.
• In Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy,
Zeelandia donates part of the proceeds of
the Panda bread mix to the World Wildlife
Fund. Total donations over the last 30 years
amount to more than 4 million dollars.
Over 7,000 physiotherapy sessions
45
Helping the next generation
Many Zeelandia subsidiaries have decided to focus their
efforts on promoting the well-being and professional
development of young people, especially those with
special needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds. For
example:
• Zeelandia East Africa supported a rehabilitation centre
which helps street girls to start a new life, away from
the streets and abusive and exploitative people.
For the safety of the children and to protect them from exploiters, photographing them was not allowed.
This gave us a chance to interact with them and their caregivers on a one on one basis and it is our hope that we forged a lasting relationship with them and from this, establish ways to offer long term solutions to some of the challenges they are faced with.
• In Slovakia, Zeelandia support a three-day festival
for children from local schools and foster homes
and for disabled people, and participated in the local
Community day in Rozhanovce.
46
• Zeelandia South Africa again sponsored the Brownies
& Downies initiative in Cape Town, by providing
free supplies to bake bread, rolls and brownies for
customers. We also donated money to buy a vehicle to
safely transport the young workers home.
• In Germany, Zeelandia again sponsored technical
colleges, gave lessons for students preparing for a
bakery degree and sponsored the annual BakerMaker
Award.
47
Our ambitions for 2020 and onwards
Looking ahead
48
Our CSR strategy describes our targets for the next few
years and the way in which we want to achieve them.
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with many
challenges, also in the execution of our CSR programme.
Many local companies had to furlough part of their
staff, including several CSR ambassadors. While this
was an important step to safeguard the company’s
health as well as their own future job security, it meant
a temporary stop to their CSR activities as well.
Our first priority throughout the pandemic is to
safeguard the health of employees. In their regular
video meetings, the remaining CSR ambassadors
shared experiences on the mental effects of the
crisis and discussed the beneficial side-effects and
opportunities of changed working conditions, such as
increased individual responsibility and the setting-up of
international virtual teams.
The new business environment inevitably forced us
to prioritize, which has led to some delays in the CSR
programme, and the long-term effects of the COVID-19
crisis are still unknown. Yet the strategic importance
of CSR has not changed. We stand by our overall CSR
strategy and objectives, even as we will have to be
flexible in its execution, which will require continuous
alignment with the changing business environment
and new developments around COVID-19.
In short: despite the current challenges we remain
committed to the initiatives set out in our action plan
for 2020 and beyond:
Better for consumers
In 2020 we will launch new food concepts aimed at low-
calory and plant-based innovations. A new team to be
formed in 2020, involving R&D, Marketing and several
country participants, will use these concepts to develop
specific products for the European market. Our goal is
to launch at least one new healthy product concept per
year from 2021. We will also roll out existing products
with a nutritional claim in more countries, while R&D
will develop a toolkit for plant-based proteins. In the area
of food safety, we will carry out 10-15 risk assessments at
49
existing operations and update our ingredient policies to
stay ahead of upcoming developments.
Better for employees
‘Healthy working conditions’ is one of the eight group
projects for 2020 (see p. 13), in which countries and
corporate functions will work together to accelerate
progress. The CSR ambassadors will play a vital role in
this, by sharing experiences and best practices, drawing
on more than 100 local initiatives. Experts will be asked
to define best practices on safety, dust, heavy lifting,
creating engagement and CSR communication. Corporate
operations and R&D have set up country visits to assess
risks (which because of the COVID-19 crisis take the form
of virtual meetings until physical visits are safe and
responsible) and assist in local continuous improvement
programmes.
In 2020 Corporate HR will also continue the
implementation of HR standards (PDP & Bonus system) in
the group and will design and develop a code of conduct
in which our leading Business Principles are laid down and
clarified.
Zero waste
As a group, we will share experiences and join forces to
further reduce our waste production, with each individual
country being challenged to reduce its food waste volume
by 10-20%. We will also increase the amount of waste
that is sorted, to enable better recycling of our waste, to
contribute to a more circular use of materials.Two other
group-wide projects will focus on reducing the amount
of plastic used in an office setting, and on rolling out
recycle-ready packaging in more countries, based on the
experience gained in the Dutch-Belgian pilot project.
Clean energy
In 2020 we will finalize the business model and contracts
for purchasing green electricity in the Netherlands and
share the lessons learnt to support other countries in their
transition to 100% green electricity. We will also develop
solar projects by investing in solar panels ourselves, or
by providing a third party with the roof space for solar
installations and signing contracts for purchasing power
generated by them.
As to energy consumption, our goal for 2020 is for
individual countries to improve monitoring and reporting,
50
and to take specific measures to reduce their CO2
footprint. Key areas we will focus on include latent
energy use (at night and in the weekend), reducing peak
demand for electricity and saving fuel by optimizing
logistics (both within individual countries and between
Zeelandia facilities). Such efficiency gains are not only
expected to reduce our carbon footprint, but also to
generate overall cost savings in production, warehousing
and distribution.
Sustainable sourcing
In 2020 we will describe our demands for ethical and
sustainable sourcing in a code of conduct for suppliers.
We will update our palm oil policy to stimulate our
suppliers to be more transparent on their role in the
supply chain and to actively support sustainable projects
in countries where palm oil is grown and processed.
Our goal is to raise the percentage of segregated
sustainable palm oil we use in Europe from over 95% to
over 99% in 2020. Outside Europe, our intention is to
assess our volume requirements and local availability
of sustainable palm oil in 2020, in preparation of
conversion to mass balance sustainable palm oil.
Community support
Our local operations will continue to use their experience
and capabilities to support local communities and
involve employees in these projects.
Governance
In 2020 we will take further steps to integrate CSR into
our daily work. and into the management cycle (target
setting, planning, progress reporting and acting on
deviation from the plan). Starting with the company’s
top management, this approach will be cascaded to
every function and every department.
In parallel we will upgrade our communication strategy,
to inform our employees and other stakeholders and
create engagement for change. Our CSR ambassadors
will play a crucial role by involving the local teams and
sharing experience throughout our global network.
A code of conduct and whistleblowing policy have
been drafted and will be rolled out. The controlling
department will work on standardisation of KPIs and
more structural reporting of CSR-related results.
51
Royal Zeelandia Group Fonteine 2 | 4301 AG Zierikzee | The Netherlands | [email protected] | www.zeelandia.com