People & the environment

Bouquetnet stands for corporate social and ecological responsibility. In our business operations, we consider the impact that our decisions have on people and the environment. Our aim is to lay sustainable foundations for the future and this is reflected in the following areas:

SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS

We work from an extremely sustainable building which is made from 100% reusable concrete and fitted with a heat recovery – or HR – unit. We use the residual heat from our refrigeration units and from our production halls to heat and cool our offices.

SOLAR PANELS

We only use sustainable (green) energy. So our buildings have no gas connections. Most of the electricity we require is provided by the 2400 solar panels installed on the roofs of our two buildings. These provide us with in excess of 1.2 megawatts.

ELECTRIC CHARGING STATIONS

Our 62 charging stations encourage our employees to use electric cars and bikes to get to and from work. Our temporary workers are picked up and taken home again by electric buses powered by self-generated electricity. We also have electric fat bikes which mean that we can cycle to some of our suppliers.

WATER AND WASTE RECYCLING

We are self-sufficient when it comes to meeting our own water requirements. Rainwater is collected and filtered for the flowers. And waste water is purified and recycled for the toilets in our building. We sort waste (paper, cardboard, organic waste, plastic, wood, iron, etc.) carefully so that it can be reused. For instance, in our production facility we have a cardboard bale press and discharge belt for cardboard flower packaging. We have more than achieved our goal to reduce the amount of plastic we use by 50% in 2020. How have we done it? By recycling residual materials, using paper wrapping and thinner films and doing away with transport packaging.

SEDUM ROOFS

140 m² of sustainable sedum has been installed on the roofs around our buildings. These roofs provide excellent insulation, help to reduce CO₂ emissions and filter fine dust from the air. The same applies to the big trees around our buildings.

Chrysal machine

Together with Chrysal, we have developed a machine that is unique to the Netherlands which allows us to administer exactly the right amount of flower food directly into the bucket. We check this dosage every day in order to guarantee as optimal a vase life as possible for our bouquets. We no longer need t-bags in the millions of buckets that we use, which means a reduction of around 12,700 kg of waste, a large proportion of which is plastic, every year!

BEES

Bees are also important to us. Around our properties, we have a bee hotel, several insect hotels and our own bee population of > 30,000 bees. Lieke, one of our employees, took the training course that we offer on beekeeping and is now a trained beekeeper who keeps a close eye on the welfare of our bees.

CERTIFICATION

We are transparent in the way we work with our suppliers and know the origin of our products, as demonstrated by the number of certificates that we have been awarded. We also became a member of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) in 2019.

The certificates we have been awarded include the following: ISO 9001:2015 + ISO 14001:2015 + Global G.A.P. CoC + GGN label + MPS Florimark trade + Fairtrade.

We have also been affiliated with the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative since 2019 (FSI).

VITALITY PLAN FOR OUR EMPLOYEES

The fitness of our workforce is of great importance to us. That is why we provide our employees with an indoor gym for personal training where they can also learn about mindfulness and get nutritional advice. We also provide fresh fruit for our workforce every week and encourage our employees to come to work on their (electric) bikes which they can park in our ample secure bike parks.

Training & coaching

We attach great importance to personal development and offer our employees opportunities to develop within our businesses. Our customised training facilities mean that our personnel are presented with opportunities for continued development on a regular basis.

SOCIAL COMMITMENT

We like to do our bit by giving people opportunities and being involved in the local community. That is why we support various (local) causes including the Ronald Moerings Foundation, Stichting Ons Tweede Thuis (providing support for people with disabilities), the Multi Foundation and the Aalsmeer Food Bank. We also sponsor wheelchair tennis player Ruben Spaargaren and are involved in the ZAAI programme (for start-up entrepreneurs in the Aalsmeer District).

FLOWER TOWER

We like to provide our temporary workers with a pleasant and sustainable living environment. We therefore took an advisory role during the preliminary planning of the Flower Tower which included the consideration of sustainability. The Flower Tower is an apartment building (between our two commercial buildings) that provides accommodation for some of the temporary workers who work at our sites. The building is constructed in the same style as our commercial buildings.