Sustainability report

De Graaf Bakeries 2024

Think of the environment: print only when it’s really necessary.

'De Graaf Bakeries continues to show green growth.'

In our third sustainability report, we once again demonstrate how we put green growth into practice. In 2024, our environmental impact, measured using the Environmental Barometer, decreased by 10%, while our production volume increased by 5.5%.

Our absolute CO₂ footprint in Scope 1 and 2 has already been reduced by 57% compared to our base year 2020, and even by 73% per kilogram of product.

Our ambition

We have translated our five sustainability themes into concrete objectives where we, as a company, can and want to make an impact.

The themes below are linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to the ESRS standards under the CSRD.

Climate

By 2030: CO₂ neutral in Scope 1 and 2 and a 50% CO₂eq reduction per kilogram of product in Scope 3. Targets approved by SBTi.

ESRS E1 Climate Change

Circularity

Less Waste

Halve product waste by 2030
Higher quality disposal and increased use of by-products
< 10% residual waste

Packaging
100% recyclable, as much recycled material as possible, and with an increasingly lower environmental impact per kilogram of product.

ESRS E5 Resources and Circularity

Responsible Employment Practices

A safe and supportive workplace with growth opportunities
Employment and development through growth, zero accidents, and employee satisfaction.

ESRS S1 Own Employees
ESRS G1 Good Governance

Tasty and fair products

Quality and food safety
IFS higher level; no recalls

Health
Less added sugar and maximum ‘clean label’

Protein transition
More plant-based ingredients: vegan, plant-based, and hybrid

ESRS S4 Consumers

Fair, short Supply Chain

Fair and local
Palm oil free, ‘Better Life’ meat, Rainforest Alliance chocolate, free-range eggs and sourcing from the Netherlands/EU.

Sustainability declarations and audits for suppliers of critical raw materials outside Europe.

ESRS S2 Employees in the Supply Chain
ESRS G1 Animal Welfare

Sustainable agriculture
80% sustainable wheat and sugar by 2030.

ESRS E4 Biodiversity and Soil

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Environmental Barometer

Since 2020, we have been measuring our environmental impact with the Environmental Barometer. This year, the impact has decreased by 10% compared to 2023, while our sales volume has grown by 5.5%.

The biggest impact this year comes from the purchase of 50% green Dutch wind energy.

Preparation for CSRD

In 2024, we conducted the double materiality analysis in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The analysis consisted of 4 steps:

1. Identifying relevant topics
Creating a longlist and mapping the supply chain.

2. Engaging stakeholders
We asked key suppliers, customers, employees, and management how important these topics are to them.

3. Impact analysis:
This resulted in a list of material topics, assessed based on their environmental and/or social impact and the extent to which each topic represents a financial risk or opportunity for De Graaf Bakeries.

4. Prioritisation and validation
The results were validated and approved by the Board of Directors.

Based on the 15 identified material topics, we refined our sustainability strategy to focus on the following five themes: Climate, Circularity, Responsible Employment Practices, Tasty and Fair Products, and Fair, Short Supply Chain.

Compared to previous annual reports, the core topics have largely remained the same, with two additions: sustainable agriculture within the ‘Fair, Short Supply Chain’ theme and the entire theme of ‘Responsible Employment Practices’.

Even though the proposed changes to the Omnibus criteria suggest we may no longer fall under the CSRD reporting obligation, we will continue to use this standard as a guideline for our sustainability policy.

Climate

In 2024, we again reduced our absolute CO₂ emissions in scope 1-2 by 23%, mainly due to the purchase of 50% green electricity from Dutch wind power. The share of electric vehicle kilometers in business travel also increased significantly. Since our baseline year 2020, the absolute reduction in scope 1-2 emissions is already 57%, and per kilogram of product, the reduction is even 73%.

However, the majority of our CO₂ emissions are in the supply chain, in scope 3, accounting for 96.3% of our total emissions.

Our total CO₂ footprint, including scope 3, averaged 2.56 kg CO₂ per kg of product in 2024. A 34% reduction compared to our baseline year 2020.

Our CO2 footprint

Circularity

We aim to minimise food waste and maximise the (re)use of raw materials and residual flows. Last year, our product waste was 3.27%. Our goal is to reduce this by half by 2030. With the introduction of the Banana Chocolate cookie, we saved 15 tonnes of bananas from going to waste.

The average footprint of our packaging is 77.43 g CO₂eq per kg of packaged product, which is 15% less than last year. In 2024, we purchased 56 tonnes less aluminium packaging and 64 tonnes less cardboard.

Responsible Employment Practices

To achieve our growth ambitions, it is essential to attract, develop and retain the right colleagues. Engaged and diverse teams make the difference for our customers, especially when they work in a positive and safe environment, feel heard and have the opportunity to use and further develop their talents.

In 2024, team De Graaf consisted of 316 FTEs, 68% of whom had permanent contracts. We had no reportable workplace accidents this year and recorded a record number of safety observations, 98% of which have already been resolved to create an even safer work environment.

Our core values form the foundation of our behaviour and how we work together. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. This year, we renewed and strengthened our whistleblower policy to improve how we report and address misconduct.

Tasty and Fair Products

All our bakeries are IFS certified, and 100% of our suppliers are GFSI certified (BRC / IFS / FSSC 22000). This ensures that our products meet the highest quality and food safety standards for our customers. We had no product recalls in 2024.

We are aware that our core offering is a tasty product. However, excessive intake of sugar and saturated fat contributes to obesity and cardiovascular disease.

We take responsibility by offering more sustainable and healthier alternatives to our bestsellers. Our focus is on the protein transition from animal-based to more plant-based ingredients, reducing added sugars and using as many ‘clean label’ ingredients as possible.

Fair, Short Supply Chain

We believe it is important that all our products are produced responsibly, both environmentally and socially, for people and animals. Once again, we achieved a Silver rating from EcoVadis.

Where possible, we source our raw materials within Europe. 95% of our palm oil-containing ingredients are RSPO-SG certified and the remaining 5% are RSPO-MB. 94% of our chocolate is certified by Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade. 99.98% of our eggs are free-range, and 58% of our meat ingredients are certified with the Dutch ‘Beter Leven 1-star’ label. For our own-brand products, we always use Rainforest Alliance chocolate, Beter Leven meat, and free-range eggs.