‘Together we take a close look at the chain’

Valerie: ‘We take the initiative in scopes 1 and 2: it concerns our own production facilities in respect of which Aviko Rixona makes its own choices and plans. During scope 3, we focus on the impact made by ourselves and our chain partners. In addition to wanting to be transparent towards our environment about our carbon footprint from farm to fork, we also wish to reduce our carbon footprint.’

Gerwin: ‘At Aviko, we identified what raw materials we use, such as potatoes and oil, as well as the CO2 emissions resulting from the creation of our products. We review the entire process: how fries, potato flakes, our small meal pans and all other products are made. The next step means that we will cooperate even closer with our chain partners in the search for solutions to reducing the carbon footprint. Aviko wants to be able to put delicious potato products on tables in the future as well. This is only possible if we make our contribution in order to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. There is also a direct relationship here. Climate change, such as extreme precipitation and longer periods of drought, is a threat to arable farming and therefore to the supply security of our main raw material: the potato.’

Together we make the difference

Gerwin: ‘In 2023, we managed to gather huge amounts of information and calculate our CO2 emissions in a short period of time. This is due to all colleagues and externals, such as growers, who cooperated. It is of course very interesting to be able to share insights regarding the impact of our production chain, and it is even more interesting to get to work with that knowledge. What does this imply? For example, we are collaborating with the purchasing department in order to reduce the CO2 impact of the goods purchased. The purchase of sustainable palm oil (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, RSPO) constitutes a wonderful step towards further reduction, for example.’

Valerie: ‘I am curious by nature, and that is why I enjoy working together with different departments, which all bring different insights to the table. This is also part of the solution. By bringing these insights together, we are able to work towards a reduction of our carbon footprint and together actually make an impact. That makes my heart beat faster.’