Mapping and leading the way to better environmental management
Environmental coordinator Yvette Laane knows more about the Bouter Culemborg and Bouter Woerden locations than she ever thought possible. From energy consumption to water management, from the surrounding ecosystems to environmental legislation, she and her colleagues have mapped it all. The goal: to establish an environmental management system according to the ISO 14001 standard. With a systematic overview of environmental risks and mitigation measures, and the permits and procedures in place for compliance with all applicable regulations.
A structured, systematic approach
Royal A-ware strives to make all production sites in line with ISO 14001. The Heerenveen and Coevorden locations were the first to take on this substantial undertaking. Now, efforts are underway at two Bouter Cheese locations, with Yvette Laane leading the change. She divides her time between the Woerden location for specialty cheese ripening and the Culemborg location for the full-scale ripening, slicing and packaging of cheese for Ahold Delhaize.
One of the first steps in the ISO 14001 process is to identify relevant environmental aspects. ‘That is a group effort’, Yvette explains. ‘We organised numerous work sessions, involved various departments and conducted interviews with key stakeholders. Quality Assurance, Safety Health and Environment, Technical Service, Operations, Logistics, Ripening – all were represented. We did this separately for each location. Together, we assessed how our operations could affect the environment, what mitigating measures are already in place, where the gaps are and how we can address them.’
‘Bouter Cheese's sustainability efforts precede the ISO 14001 process. New boilers and a heat pump will contribute to our goal of reducing our gas consumption by 30%. Waste separation systems support the upcycling of waste streams, which contributes to the reuse of raw materials and lowers our environmental footprint. Various projects target food waste reduction and valorisation of residual streams. In short: Bouter Cheese didn't need ISO 14001 to become more sustainable. But its benefits are nevertheless substantial’, Yvette notes.
From black box to clear oversight
‘We know exactly what our impacts are, how our operations may affect people and nature, and which compliance requirements are applicable to us. And we have a process in place to review all of this regularly, to see if anything has changed in terms of laws and regulations, and act accordingly. Things change so fast that it can easily become a black box. We counteracted that. Environmental risk management and compliance are now fully embedded in our way of working.’
Positioned for continuous improvement
Importantly, all the work done to become ISO 14001-certifiable has positioned Bouter Woerden and Culemborg for continuous improvement. ‘We are not just doing this to be certifiable; we are also looking ahead. What else can we do to reduce CO2 emissions together with our suppliers and customers? How can we further reduce food waste? It is an ongoing process, and that is what makes it valuable to us.’
