CARBON FOOTPRINTING:
progress, pressure and practical realities
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With specialist tools for measuring environmental footprints already established within Dutch horticulture, how is carbon footprinting being approached elsewhere in Europe? fci takes the pulse of the industry in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK.
Belgium
Belgian floral wholesaler Floréac has embedded sustainability initiatives across its business. In 2024, it began measuring its carbon footprint using the Flori Footprint Tool, developed by Greenhouse Sustainability. The company’s sustainability manager Pieter Van De Velde says, “Overall, the process is mostly time-consuming. It did not bring in extra money and is more about compliance. Some customers already ask for it. To say it is a ‘licence to deliver’ might be too far-fetched for now, but in their contracts, retailers already announce that they will make carbon footprinting mandatory as part of their climate and sustainability goals.”
Asked about the momentum around horticultural footprinting, Van De Velde says: “The EU’s Omnibus simplification package did indeed cause companies to put the brakes on. At the same time, our industry is facing many challenges. Sustainability is a story of tomorrow, while many of us are struggling with today’s reality. For now, the cost of carbon footprinting can outweigh the commercial benefits, so understandably some companies are putting it on hold. Considering the geopolitical instability and economic stagnation, surviving is what it is mostly about.”
The wider effort to reduce horticulture’s environmental impact also includes Floréac’s work to lower pesticide residues on its plants. Sold under its Ympa brand (Swedish for ‘graft’), the range consists of plants grown using cultivation techniques intended to reduce their environmental footprint.
Ympa accounts for five per cent of the company’s sales. Van De Velde says: “Ympa is meant to be a catalyst for sustainability efforts across the supply chain. Pesticide-free is a goal that cannot be reached within one day.” Floréac also aims to be at the forefront of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) and acts as an FSI ambassador in Belgium.
Van De Velde says: “We tell Belgian growers that environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance will increasingly become a licence to supply. In the future, growing a quality product will no longer be enough. It will also be about certification and plant passports.
“Growers who intend to discontinue operations will not care, but others are now clearly taking steps.”
Collaboration among industry stakeholders is crucial. Van De Velde continues: “We teamed up with sector body AVBS, the professional federation for Flanders’ green industry, to organise a sustainability event for growers. Of course, we learned from Royal Lemkes when we were still in the same group. I continue to have very good contact with the company’s former sustainability manager, Elise Wieringa.
“We are also regularly in touch with MPS, the horticultural sustainability certification organisation, to motivate growers and redirect them to MPS when they have questions. At times, the path to sustainability can feel somewhat lonesome in Belgium. Contrary to the Netherlands, there are no special groups for knowledge sharing. Most of our information comes from the Dutch auction and the Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products (VGB).”
Sustainability is a story of tomorrow, while many of us are struggling with today’s reality
Pieter Van De Velde Sustainability manager, Floréac
France
Ornamental horticulture accounts for approximately [2.0 OR 2.2 confirmed figure]% of total agricultural production in France. The country has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 under its Stratégie Nationale Bas-Carbone (SNBC). For the ornamental horticulture sector, however, translating that ambition into consistent carbon measurement remains a work in progress.
French horticultural producers can draw on Base Empreinte®, ADEME’s public database of greenhouse gas emission factors for carbon accounting. However, France does not yet have carbon-accounting tools tailored specifically to ornamental horticulture.
Industry associations are therefore considering whether Dutch expertise and certification systems could help shape an approach suited to the French sector. Against this backdrop, VALHOR organised a French trade mission to the Netherlands in June to examine how Dutch horticultural businesses are approaching carbon neutrality and sustainability.
The delegation included landscape architects, hardy nursery stock growers, plant breeders and representatives of FranceAgriMer and VALHOR.
I personally do not consider it helpful if additional reporting obligations are introduced too quickly
Paul Lampert Erfurt University of Applied Sciences
Company or product?
Carbon accounting can focus on an entire business or an individual product. Corporate carbon footprint (CCF) Measures the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the company’s overall activities and operations. Product carbon footprint (PCF) Measures the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a particular product across defined stages of its lifecycle.
Germany
Paul Lampert of Erfurt University of Applied Sciences (Production Systems and Operational Research in sustainable plant production) says: “In Germany, the topic of carbon footprinting is gaining traction, particularly in ornamental horticulture. Larger retail players, including supermarkets, DIY chains and discounters, are increasingly asking suppliers for sustainability-related information and greenhouse gas data. However, in practice, the pressure is currently still moderate compared to what many expected one or two years ago. One important reason is the recent postponement and simplification of several EU sustainability reporting requirements under the Omnibus initiative.
“From my perspective, many growers are currently facing numerous other economic and structural challenges, including rising energy and labour costs, market uncertainties and investment pressure. Against this background, I personally do not consider it helpful if additional reporting obligations are introduced too quickly or without sufficient practical applicability for horticultural businesses.
“At the same time, we clearly see increasing interest from the banking sector. One specific example is the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, which supports businesses in preparing greenhouse-gas inventories and offers an interest-rate bonus on certain loans when a qualifying climate balance is submitted.
“In this context, the focus is currently mainly on the corporate carbon footprint (CCF) at company level rather than the product carbon footprint (PCF), which may become more relevant later through retailer-driven sustainability reporting requirements.”
Lampert concludes: “In my view, the strongest future pressure will mainly affect those growers supplying large retail chains. For many smaller and medium-sized horticultural businesses, the key challenge will be ensuring that sustainability requirements remain manageable and economically realistic.”
UK
David Denny, director of research and knowledge transfer at the UK’s Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), says, “There are several emerging influences on emissions and environmental reporting in UK horticulture. The British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Mondra coalition is gaining traction in the sector, bringing together stakeholders in farm production, retail, and government to provide comprehensive environmental footprint data in the grocery and fresh produce sectors, with some involvement for floriculture.
“Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies, supported by product-category rules such as the Floriculture Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (FloriPEFCR), are receiving increasing attention for their potential to support the footprinting of plants and cut flowers. The whole UK supply chain, from retailers and growers to certification providers, is mindful of the need to avoid ‘data for data’s sake’.
“With increasing cost pressures in the supply chain, there is a pressing need to avoid duplication of time spent on data extraction and submission, and to drive action that improves the business. Increasingly, schemes such as the HTA’s Ornamental Horticulture Assurance Scheme are combining measurement with practical support for environmental improvement, for instance through knowledge transfer activities focused on optimising the sustainability of crop inputs.”