Gerrit Westhoff from FrieslandCampina talks about sustainability

He works at FrieslandCampina under the great title of Supply Chain Director Sustainability: Gerrit Westhoff is one of the speakers at the FHI Energy in Industry event. Read a preview of what he will say on June 20 here. 

On the way to climate-neutral dairy
It is clear that FrieslandCampina is aware of its role in the energy transition. Under the guise 'nourishing a better planet the company is working on net climate-neutral dairy. Gerrit: “The goals of the United Nations were our starting point when drawing up this plan. We are also committed to the Paris Climate Agreement. We want to be net climate neutral by 2050.”  

An innovative attitude is the start
FrieslandCampina is working hard to reduce its energy consumption. In this way, she is working to reduce her ecological footprint, as stated in the climate plan. Gerrit: “We optimize business processes and test innovative technologies such as replacing energy with biogas. But also being more flexible in the use of gas versus electricity. We now switch between them more easily.” Therein lies the challenge, because electrification requires sensors. And they are not always in every factory. “I would like to highlight this aspect during the FHI event. There are probably many people who want to think with us about how we can solve this problem together.”  

FrieslandCampina also finds transparency very important. Gerrit: “We share our progress in reports. Everyone can see which projects we have started in the context of our sustainability goals and which goals we have already achieved.” This shows, for example, by what percentage energy consumption has fallen.  

 Collaboration, innovation and future-oriented thinking
“We take our role in the energy transition seriously. So we have our own Research and Developmentcenter in Wageningen where we are innovating. We are also open to start-ups that come to us with innovative ideas. We facilitate these projects by testing new equipment, such as certain sensors in factories. If it fits in with our business operations, we participate in such innovative projects.” According to Gerrit. “We are part of a cooperative. This means that we work with relevant parties for the long term to truly have a positive influence. This way we can really make an impact.”