In June 2024, Coöperatie Hoogstraten achieved the VCDO certificate for sustainable entrepreneurship for the 12th year in a row. This recognition comes after an intense year of strategically embedding sustainability into our vision for the future.
VCDO is the Voka Charter for Sustainable Entrepreneurship, which helps companies integrate sustainability into their corporate DNA and achieve their sustainability goals. Through tailored action plans, it promotes corporate social responsibility, combining profitability with social and environmental responsibility.
By investing in people, partnerships, knowledge sharing and innovative techniques, we want to support the transition towards more sustainable horticulture.
Meeting European ESG targets
A great example is our Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) program, which we have already launched to report on 2025 by 2026. This is a new European directive that requires companies to report extensively on their sustainability performance.
It involves more than just financial data; companies also have to provide information on
- environmental impact,
- social responsibility and
- governance.
CSRD is important because it helps companies operate with greater transparency and increased responsibility. It ensures that stakeholders such as customers, investors and employees are better informed about companies‘ performance in terms of sustainability.
Double materiality
An important first step in the cooperative’s CSRD journey is double materiality, which requires companies to
- report the impact of sustainability on their financial performance
(financial materiality) and - the impact of their activities on people and the environment
(environmental materiality).
In an internal exercise, we defined areas of material sustainability for Coöperatie Hoogstraten:
- Energy
- Climate change
- Careful treatment of raw materials
- Home of Knowledge
- Acting with integrity
- Home of People
We also talked to our stakeholders to better understand their sustainability expectations and concerns.
By including stakeholder feedback, we are better able to respond to their needs and improve our sustainability strategy . This double materiality exercise is intended to result in a policy with an appropriately concrete plan of action.
Looking to purchase fruit and vegetables from a certified, sustainable organization?
Find out why our clients choose to work with Coöperatie Hoogstraten.
