Column Public Affairs: 'Transparancy is central to sustainability' 

The Public Affairs department represents the interests of Royal FloraHolland, its members and the floriculture sector in society, the media and politics.




Transparency is central to policy and legislation on sustainability. It simply means: show what you are doing and how you are committed to doing it better and better. In Europe, a new directive was adopted two years ago, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD for short. That directive requires companies to report on the impact of their activities on people and the environment including the climate. With all kinds of established frameworks and mandatory topics, the intention is to make what companies do transparent. By giving clear direction on how to report, the quality of the sustainability information they provide will also improve. This includes topics such as CO2 emissions, air pollution from transport, working conditions or increasing the circularity of transport and product packaging.



Royal FloraHolland started preparing in time to meet the requirements from CSRD. Reporting on the 'non-financial' issues of our business operations and cooperative is largely in the works. This year we want to have concretely determined what are the most important topics on which we will do our full sustainability reporting next year. We determine those most important subjects (called the material subjects) together and with various stakeholders. These are growers, buyers, employees, sector partners and social organizations & government. We look at what is 'material' from two perspectives. We look at the impact our business activities and cooperation have on people and the environment. Conversely, we also look at what developments in sustainability offer risks and opportunities for Royal FloraHolland and the chain.

That's quite a job, but when this process is out of the way there will be a good basis. Then we will offer the requested insight into the state of affairs within our company, including the efforts we are making to make our business operations increasingly sustainable.


Especially the larger companies are now actively working to comply with this new legislation soon. For the large trading companies, which purchase flowers and plants, there are also reporting requirements that demand direct insight into the chain. Growers are being asked to provide data and facts to provide that insight. Most growers already have a good basis for this. They collect data and record matters in the systems that form the basis for their environmental certification and/or footprint calculation. This is how they demonstrate what they are doing to reduce their environmental impact. Royal FloraHolland's decision to gradually require all members and suppliers to be fully certified according to FSI requirements helps with this development. Floriday offers buyers insight into the available FSI certifications. Furthermore, we are investigating whether and how footprinting on Floriday can also be made transparent to buyers. Then we will realize our ambition: the largest, transparent and reliable marketplace for the global trade in flowers and plants.


Do you have questions or would you like more information about this topic? Then email publicaffairs@royalfloraholland.com.