PW-ACTUA Sustainability certification for Agrico The Agrico Cooperative in Emmeloord was recently awarded the ISO 26000 sustainability certification. The certificate comprises a large number of sustainability criteria with which the company must comply. According to general manager Jan van Hoogen, sustainability is an important strategic topic within the potato company. From 2012, Agrico has started to introduce sustainable business processes to comply with the requirements for the ISO 26000 directive. According to the management, an important step was taken towards a sustainable and responsible future for the organisation. To comply with the requirements, various changes were effected in the working methods of the company, according to the press release on the subject. According to the cooperative, the changes include both radical, major adjustments and small operational ones. For example, the potato trading company mentions cutting the paper usage by 50 percent by using less and also by double-sided printing. Investments were also made in energy-saving equipment such as printers, computers and the vehicle fleet. The reference report, which can be consulted on the www. agrico.nl/mvo, website sets out all the company’s other objectives. Points that are mentioned include the compensation of the 700,000 flight kilometres per annum by Agrico’s staff, and participation in the Skylark Foundation [Stichting Veldleeuwerik]. Within Skylark, crop farmers, and processing and other industries, work together to stimulate the sustainable production of arable crops. Agrico is not the only chain partner, Agrico Research’s crop farm also participates in Skylark. Moreover, some Agrico growers will start delivering potatoes of the Gourmandine variety to the Plus Supermarkets this season, some under the Skylark Foundation logo. Van Hoogen points out that the ISO 26000 certification is not the ultimate goal. ‘We are, of course, very proud to have reached this milestone. It’s a nice reward for all the efforts that everyone’s put into the project. Right now, it’s important to keep the energy flowing and to continue the developments. In the next phase, we would also like to involve our subsidiaries and member companies. I believe this will bring more good results in the future.’ ● Harvesting tomatoes and potatoes from a TomTato plant At £14.99 the British company Thompson & Morgan sells plants that grow both tomatoes and potatoes. British consumers who order this innovative plant, which has the illustrious name TomTato, can have it delivered by the end of May. The company wants to emphasise that it doesn’t use GMO technology, but that they have developed the plant through grafting. In a YouTube video, the company stresses that the tastes of both the tomatoes and the potatoes are very good. The plant is apparently extremely productive. With the right care, you can harvest as many as five hundred cherry tomatoes from the plant itself and dig up 2 kilograms of white-fleshed potatoes from in the ground. The company emphasises that grafting has been so successful because the tomato and the potato come from the same family. Unfortunately, the plant can only be ordered in Great Britain. ● The TomTato plant produces both potatoes and tomatoes. Potato World 2013 • number 4 15 Pagina 14
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