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Sustainability

With less than 7 years left to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2030, there is still plenty to do. We’re taking responsibility and doing our part, focusing on five pillars.

SDG 13

Sustainable Development Goal No. 13 is all about taking action to combat climate change and its impact.

Read more about goal 13 on the SDG website.

Climate-conscious

Our 2030 climate target (near-term target) has been assessed and approved by SBTi.

Climate-neutral

Our business operations have always been climate-conscious, and our goal now is fully climate-neutral production by 2030 – with no external compensation, optimal heat recovery, and sustainable energy sources.

Read our cases
  • Our goal is to achieve a 15% reduction in scope 3 by 2030.
  • We're also asking our key suppliers to actively work on CO2 reduction, reducing the environmental impact of our raw materials. (scope 3)
  • All of the company's leased cars will be electric by 2025.

SDG 3

Sustainable Development Goal 3 is focused on health and a conscious lifestyle.

Read more on the SDG website.

Healthier lifestyle

Sugar, fat, & fibre intake

We’re aware that we’re not selling fruit. Excessive sugar and saturated fat intake causes obesity and cardiovascular disease. We take responsibility for our part in that by offering healthier alternatives with less added refined sugar, less saturated fat, more fibre, and portion control at moments of enjoyment.

Healthier alternatives

We guarantee that our employees can work in a pleasant, safe, and healthy bakery.

See examples

From climate-conscious to climate-neutral

Our goal now is fully climate-neutral production by 2030 – with no external compensation, optimal heat recovery, and sustainable energy sources.

SDG 12

Sustainable Development Goal 12 is focused on sustainable consumption and production.

Read more on the SDG website.

Less waste

Did you know we use the apple peels from our apple pies to make jam? That jam is then used in other products.

Less waste

Food production demands a lot of our planet. That’s why we’re careful about how we manage our edible raw materials and end products. We want to prevent and continuously reduce food waste, then convert leftovers into reusable raw materials.

Finally, our meat-free final product waste goes into animal feed. Waste with meat goes to biofermentation. That allows us to get the most out of all of our raw materials.

  • Our goal is to reduce product waste to less than 1% in 2030.

SDG 12

Sustainable Development Goal 12 is focused on sustainable consumption and production.

Read more on the SDG website.

Smarter packaging

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Our delicious products warrant safe, protective packaging to avoid waste. But we still want to reduce our paper and plastic usage. What we use should be 100% recyclable and made from as much recycled material as possible.

  • We're moving towards 100% mono-use materials with a throw-away guide, so that no packaging materials end up in landfill waste.
  • We're also aiming to have all packaging made of at least 30% recycled material by 2025. Our aim is to use only fully recycled material by 2030.
  • We're reducing the amount of packaging material per kg of product. Our target is reducing that amount by 25% by 2025.
  • The cardboard boxes we use are FSC® certified.
See the examples

SDG 8

Sustainable Development Goal 8 is focused in part on sustainable economic growth.

Read more about Goal 8 on the SDG website.

Fair short supply chain

We use barn eggs in our products.

Fair

We believe in fair pay for farmers (for sugar, grain, and butter), stopping deforestation (with palm oil), and animal-friendly production.

  • Palm oil in margarine is 100% RSPO (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil). Our goal is to produce palm-oil-free products.
  • We offer our customers the alternative of using fair trade / Rainforest Alliance (UTZ) certified chocolate.
  • More than 60% of the meat in our products is 'Better Life' certified. We always give our customers the opportunity to choose this for their meat and eggs.

Local

We buy raw materials within the Netherlands and Europe, where possible. It promotes chain transparency and delivery reliability. It also minimises transport distance.

Download our 2022 sustainability report
Investment in new freezer towers
By investing in three new freezer towers in Spakenburg and Hoogeveen, we're doing even more to guarantee the quality of our delicious apple pies. These towers have a closed cooling system that will save 6300 tonnes of CO2eq per year and push us even closer to our sustainability target. The savings are comparable to the annual emissions of approximately 330 households. That's a win-win!
Solar panels
We have a whopping 519 solar panels on the roof of our Vrieshuis in Spakenburg. Each year, the panels generate enough energy to power around 55 households (converted). We use that energy to cool our products.
Gas reduction
Head office and freezer warehouse Spakenburg
At the head office, we heat the offices by recovering residual heat from the freezing process of our frozen food warehouse. As a result, we no longer use gas here.

Gas reduction production site Spakenburg
Together with AMF Den Boer, we improved the energy consumption of the apple pie oven. The result: 25% less gas consumption to bake the same delicious apple pie.

Reuse of residual heat
We are also investigating how to use residual heat from the freezers at our production site in Spakenburg to heat cleaning water and how to optimise the use of our gas furnaces.

Gas reduction production site Hoogeveen
In Hoogeveen, we still consume gas mainly for the deep-frying oven. Despite a higher share of deep-frying products in Hoogeveen, we still reduced gas consumption by 1.5% by replacing the deep-fryer oven.
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Plant-based frikandel sandwich
Changing the world can be very tasty. This is proven by the new and very first plant-based frikandel sandwich, which De Graaf Bakeries has developed exclusively for Albert Heijn in the Netherlands.

This sandwich is part of the new generation of fresh snacks in the bakery department of Albert Heijn, in line with the need for sustainable and vegetable snacks. Moreover, this plantbased frikandel sandwich has a Nutri-Score B, which is better than many alternative non-vegetable options.

Read more in the press release

Mini butter almond cakes with no added sugar*.
For those who still want to indulge, just with less sugar, we're offering a smaller version of this traditional Dutch filled biscuit.

*This product contains naturally occurring sugars.

Check out the biscuits
Croquis vega
This delicious savoury snack is a cousin of the croissant, but with its own unique character. Tasty fillings and a crispy topping make Croquis both a feast for the eyes and the ultimate taste experience.

Variations:
  • Croqui Hummus (Vega)
  • Croqui Mozzarella Tomato (Vega)
  • Croqui Spinach Cheese (Vega)
Try them all!

Check out our vega snacks
Violife plant-based Gouda flavour pastry
This 100% plant-based pastry was developed in collaboration with Upfield, makers of Violife. It’s a crunchy puff pastry snack filled and topped with Violife's delicious Gouda cheese flavour. That means the ethically conscious snacker no longer has to compromise on taste.

Ethically delicious
We're joining forces with Violife to satisfy the cravings of vegans and flexitarians. They eat fewer or no animal products to help protect the environment, animal welfare, or their own health. So unlike regular cheese snacks, this pastry contains no egg as a glaze, no butter, and no milk in the filling.


Check out our vega snacks
Plant-based sausage rolls
The plant-based sausage roll is just as rich in flavour and creamy as the classic version!

The filling has more than 15 different herbs and spices including nutmeg, mace, garlic, bell pepper and white pepper. The crust dough is made with margarine and the plant-based mince from wheat protein. This therefore makes the sausage roll suitable for a plant-based diet.

Our sausage roll was previously tested as best by CSO (Dutch Centre for Flavour Research). "I can't believe it's not meat!"


Check out our plant-based snacks
Plant-based apple-nut pies
This luxurious-looking apple pie will serve you juicy apple pieces with a touch of cinnamon and sultanas, enveloped in creamy apple pie dough. The rich nut, seed, and fruit mix gives this pie an extra bite and brings a new dimension to the flavour. By using only vegetable ingredients, you can sell this cake as a plant-based product. It's a true eye-catcher in your range!

Check out our apple pies
Plant-based apple pies
This fresh 450-gram apple pie is made using delectable Dutch apples, sultanas, and cinnamon on a shortcrust pastry base. It's a delightful treat for 5 to 6 people. By using only vegetable ingredients, this delicious cake can be sold as plantbased. It will appeal to a new target audience in the bakery department.

Check out our apple pies
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Air-treatment system
At our locations in Hoogeveen and Spakenburg, we've installed an air-treatment system in all of our production areas. It guarantees the most hygienic working conditions for both our products and our colleagues.
Fruit for staff
We make sure there's fresh fruit in the fruit bowl for our colleagues every day.
Preventive medical check
We offer all of our colleagues a free Personal Health Check. It gives our team an insight into their current lifestyle, cholesterol, blood sugar, and work-life balance, as well as advice on how to improve it.
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Smarter packaging
Accomplished in 2022

1,400,000 kg of white outer boxes have been replaced by unbleached FSC-certified versions (these already comprise 80% recycled material).

The blue plastic bags have already been replaced by blank bags. Blue plastic is more difficult to separate and we aim for 100% mono material that's easy to separate. The total weight of these bags is 90 tons!

10% less aluminium packaging compared to 2021. By 2030, we have replaced all aluminium packages with baking-resistant paper. We won't develop new products with aluminium packaging.

IFS Certificaten

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