Our journey to climate neutrality
Producing our impactful products is inextricably linked to CO2 emission. With our CO2 reduction plan, developed in cooperation with Anthesis, we aim for complete CO2 neutrality for our direct emissions (scope 1) and energy (scope 2) by 2030 and scope 3 by 2045.
Our biggest mutual challenges lie within our value chain; reducing CO2 caused by ingredients, packaging and transport. In order to get further insights and opportunities for reductions we aim to intensify our cooperation with our suppliers and business partners in 2025.
Climate neutrality: what does it mean?
At Winclove Probiotics, we strive to minimize our environmental impact to the greatest extent possible. But what does achieving climate neutrality truly entail? Our primary focus is on reducing emissions wherever feasible, and for those that cannot be mitigated, we seek to compensate for them. For many years, we have been actively supporting CO2 compensation initiatives, while continually working to lower our emissions with the ultimate aim of attaining climate neutrality. We have established targets within the three ‘scopes’ outlined in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which is the international standard for measuring greenhouse gas emissions: direct and indirect emissions from our company, as well as indirect emissions throughout our value chain.
Scope 1
Direct emissions from company sources that can be divided into:
- Direct emissions from controlled sources:
- Energy use on site (e.g. natural gas and fuel).
- Refrigerants, furnaces and emissions from fleets.
- Process emissions:
- Emissions released from on-site production processes.
Scope 2
Indirect emissions from electricity we purchase, including:
- Indirect emissions from purchased energy:
- Greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat or cooling.
- Energy that is generated externally and used by the company.
Scope 3
Indirect emissions in the value chain that arise from activities of assets that are not owned or controlled by the company.
- Upstream emissions:
- Goods and services purchased.
- Capital goods, fuel and energy-related activities.
- Transport and distribution.
- Industrial waste.
- Business travel and employee commuting.
- Leased assets.
- Downstream emissions:
- Goods and services sold (after transfer of ownership).
- Transport, distribution, processing and use of sold products.
- End-of-life processing of products.
- Leased assets, franchises, and investments.
Our goals for climate neutrality
Our reduction plan consists of ambitious goals, converted into concrete projects that help us reducing our CO2 emissions. Various Winclove colleagues have contributed by calculating the CO2 reduction resulting from these projects and by planning the projects in time to achieve our goals.
The following reduction targets have been set:
- Scope 1 and 2: achieve climate neutrality by 2030
- Scope 3: achieve climate neutrality by 2045
This means an annual reduction of 5% across all scopes, which equates to a reduction of 90 tonnes of CO2 per year (starting 2023).
Our CO2 emissions since 2020
For a number of years, we have been working on reducing our CO2 emissions, as shown in the chart below. As a result of the increasing amount of produced kilos of products over the years, our emissions also increase, but not proportionately. This is mainly due to efficiency improvements we have made in recent years. We realise that we will have to do our utmost to achieve our goal of being climate neutral by 2045.
Concrete actions to reduce our emissions and achieve our goals
To achieve our goals, we focus on innovative and sustainable solutions.
A few examples:
- Fully vegetarian catering: we have switched to a caterer that focuses on sustainability in all areas, including eliminating meat from our meals.
- Sustainable new building: our new building has been designed to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient.
- More efficient packaging material: We use big bags for carrier material, which ensures less packaging waste and more efficient transport.
Collaboration is the key to achieving our goals
Achieving climate neutrality is not something we can do all by ourselves. Cooperation with our business partners and suppliers is crucial. How can we work together on more sustainable choices in the chain? For example, by creating shorter transport lines and supporting regenerative agriculture. Suggestions and new ideas are always welcome, so don’t hesitate to inspire us with your thoughts on this topic.
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