Our recently unveiled European distribution centre, located in Made in The Netherlands, has been recognised for its sustainable build and design with a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certification, a top award for environmentally-friendly design.

The new distribution centre, a space for a fully conditioned packaging, 19 loading docks, storage capacity and a office space, has become a flagship sustainable soft fruit packhouse.

BREEAM is the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de facto measure used to describe the sustainability performance of buildings.

Growing a sustainably different berry world

Nine different sustainability categories were looked at: management, health, energy, transport, water, materials, waste, land use and ecology and pollution. Each category affects the total score, which is expressed in stars. A maximum of five stars can be obtained for each category, the distribution centre managed to obtain 5 stars in all areas and therefore received the BREEAM-Outstanding rating, putting it in the top sustainable soft fruit packhouses in the world.

“The BREEAM-Outstanding Certificate implies that the entire new building meets the highest sustainability standard. For example, the building is completely emission-free, there are solar panels on the roof and the building uses a maximum amount of sustainable materials. All the heat we need for the building comes from the cooling system. This is enough to keep the entire office at a temperature of 21°C even at minus 15°C outside. Also, around the building we have paid extra attention to sustainability, including a natural pond, insect hotels and flower beds” says Wil Beekers, Growing & Packing Division CEO.

As we commit to growing a sustainably different berry world, we aim to provide maximum quality to our customers with minimal environmental impact and this award will help us towards that goal.