Green light for EU Sustainability scheme
Consumers and trade across Europe are increasingly demanding demonstrably verifiable sustainably grown flowers and plants. Reliability and transparency of Royal FloraHolland's platform is therefore an absolute must for the reputation of the sector.
This is where growers and buyers find each other and do business with peace of mind. To meet this growing demand for reliable insight into the environment impact of floriculture products, a consortium, led by Royal FloraHolland and Wageningen University & Research has developed the FloriPEFCR for the European floriculture market / horticulture market. The FloriPEFCR is now the new standard method for environmental footprint calculations for flowers and plants.
The FloriPEFCR (Floriculture Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules) allows growers to calculate the environmental impact of cut flowers and pot plants using 16 environmental indicators. This calculation is done according to a European Commission recognised, accredited Product Environmental Footprint standard, under which FloriPEFCR falls. Following the submission on 29 September 2023 of the final version of FloriPEFCR to the European Commission (EC), the project management has been interrogated considerably on the content by the Technical Advisory Board and the Environmental Footprint Team of the EC in recent months. This questioning has now been successfully completed and from now on we can calculate, compare and monitor the environment impact for a cut flower or pot plant in an unambiguous way.
Festive celebration approval
During the festive presentation on 14 February 2024, in the presence of representatives of project partners and tool builders, among others, the final approval was celebrated. Project leader Roline Broekema of Wageningen University & Research, under the watchful eye of the consortium partners and Technical Secretariat chairman Albert Haasnoot (Royal FloraHolland), symbolically handed the FloriPEFCR booklet to Jeroen Oudheusden (Executive Officer Floriculture Sustainability Initiative). This moment marks the starting point for the next step of the FloriPEFCR.
Next step
Now that the FloriPEFCR has been endorsed by the EC, the entire floriculture sector can get to work to realise the ultimate purpose | goal of the FloriPEFCR: to show in an unambiguous and verified way the environmental impact of a floriculture market / horticulture market in order to use this insight to reduce the environmental impact of floriculture products. FSI will support the lots by developing a benchmark for tools that promote unity of both methodology and data verification and exchange. In 2024, Royal FloraHolland will develop a vision for the use of footprint information. In doing so, Floriday will be committed to exchanging this information. Through the practical application of footprint information, we will reduce the sector's ecological footprint and collaborate to increase trust and transparency.
FloriPEFCR history
In 2018, the project under the name 'Hortifootprint' was initiated by Royal FloraHolland, GroentenFruit Huis and WUR and co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. The project group also includes Union Fleurs, MPS group, Glasshouse horticulture Netherlands, Natuur & Milieu, FSI, Florverde, ABN AMRO and Rabobank. PRé Sustainability and Blonk Consultants provided LCA-specific support.
In 2019, following the publication of the Hortifootprint category rules, the project continued with the development of FloriPEFCR, under the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint. Under the EU's proposed rules, companies making green claims will in future be required to assess their products using Life Cycle Assessment-based methods and the so-called Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method is specifically mentioned in it. The floriculture sector is leading the way with this.
