Bodegraven – Vandersterre, the cheese FAMILY from Holland, is launching its ambitious vision for sustainable development. Vandersterre is announcing its plans to achieve climate neutrality in 2030, through a combination of emission reductions, sustainable investments and chain-wide collaboration.
On the way to a climate-neutral company
“Sustainable development is a cornerstone of our strategy at Vandersterre, and forms an integral part of how we want to future-proof our company and its impact on our planet, for generations to come”, highlights Jeroen Klein, the director of Strategy at Vandersterre. “As a family business, we want to ensure our products and operations are handled responsibly, taking the planet into consideration. With our ambition for sustainability, we have a clear goal to work towards in the coming years”.
In making its vision come to life, Vandersterre will be doing its own part – and more – in helping the dairy industry reduce its emissions. “As a cheese producer and wholesaler, Vandersterre has direct impact on the emissions stemming from the ripening, packaging and distribution phases”, explains Iida Iloniitty, the sustainability advisor of the company. “By bringing innovative technical solutions to our processes we can reduce our own corporate footprint. In addition to that, through collaboration with our partners, we will be supporting climate-friendly
development on the Dutch dairy farms too”.
More than emission reductions
Vandersterre has formulated four focus points to guide its sustainable development:
As part of its strategy, Vandersterre will increase the focus on eco-friendly product categories, including organic, Jersey and products of plant-based origin. Moreover, Vandersterre will be taking measures to optimize the efficiency of its operations. To extend the company’s responsibility to its employees and local communities, Vandersterre couples this with initiatives that emphasize the social aspect of sustainability.
Sustainable development takes time, investments and effort. Vandersterre recognizes that, although important steps can be made, not all emissions can be eliminated in the near term. Because of this, Vandersterre seeks to compensate emissions through (international) carbon offsetting projects and (local) carbon sequestration programs, whilst it continues to reduce its footprint.
Vandersterre is committed to working towards climate-neutrality and is looking forward to collaborating with partners for a future-proof dairy industry.
About Vandersterre
Vandersterre is a Dutch family-owned company that ripens and refines, packages and sells specialty cheeses in the Netherlands and over 80 countries worldwide. The company employs around 450 people. In addition to its head office and distribution centers, Vandersterre has a modern packaging plant in Grootebroek, providing pre-pack and slicing solutions, as well as a largely automated cheese storage facility in Meerkerk.
Read more on this topic on the Vandersterre website: CLIMATE NEUTRAL – Vandersterre (vandersterre-cheese.com)
