We needed to redefine our way of working and how we collect and store data.
Agristo’s path to sustainable growth: webinar recap
Sustainability
At Agristo, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword—it’s woven into the very fabric of our operations. In our recent webinar, featuring insights from Potatoholics Peter Vos, Energy Manager, and Ward Claerbout, Legal & External Affairs Manager, we delved deep into our latest sustainability report.
Here’s an extensive look at the key highlights you won’t want to miss.
Why sustainability matters to Agristo
Sustainability has always been part of our DNA. We’ve always been focusing on efficiency from the start. In our mindset, efficiency equals sustainability. Working with a natural product like potatoes, which are directly impacted by climate change, makes our focus on sustainability a no-brainer. Being a family-owned company, we are committed to building a future for the next generations, aiming for the next 100 years and beyond.
Making energy intensity a priority
Our business is energy-intensive due to significant material usage, water, and transportation needs. “We make pre-fried, frozen food, which requires a lot of energy,” explained Peter. We need water to wash, steam, and peel our potatoes, and we export our products worldwide. These pose major challenges as there are no easy solutions available yet. “We need a lot of high-temperature energy, which is more challenging. Dare we say our greatest challenge.”
From our purpose to a plan
Growth at Agristo isn’t just about numbers. It’s about growth for everyone in our ecosystem. “Sustainability is an integral part of our overall business strategy,” noted Ward. Being compliant with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has helped us identify key sustainability topics through extensive stakeholder analysis, shaping our focus on the 3P’s: planet, product, and people. “This is also visualized in our compass. This guides us in what, why, and how we do our business. Our purpose: we cultivate growth … It’s a starting point for all sustainable decision-making.”
The impact of CSRD
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. What a mouthful. First of all, it’s mandatory. Well, not for us. Yet. It will be in 2026. But we wanted to take a head start, reporting on the CSRD standards.
The CSRD has a massive impact on our operations. Luckily, we were already doing a lot, as we’ve been already reporting on our carbon footprint since 2019 for example. However, the directive requires more depth and detail, pushing us to redefine our KPIs and focus on areas where we can make the most significant impact. “We needed to redefine our way of working, how we collect and store data and decide which topics are (non-)material. The results were very interesting, even for the non-material topics,” says Peter.
It's a material world: some of our main material topics
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Carbon Footprint
Our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint have been substantial. “Our part of the total footprint totals 18% for a 1 kg bag of fries. The rest is spread throughout the value chain,” shared Peter. We’ve reduced our own impact by nearly 34% in four years, but there’s still work to be done across the value chain. “Now is the time to move forward and look for solutions throughout the chain.”
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Water
This topped the charts in our double materiality assessment as our number one material topic. Our water strategy includes efficiency projects, dashboards, and reuse installations. “We even have done a water footprint analysis, and the conclusion was jaw-dropping: 99.5% of our water footprint lies in scope 3. So Agristo itself only has a 0.5% direct impact here,” highlighted Peter, calling for a holistic approach to water management.
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Sustainable agriculture
Our farmers are crucial stakeholders, contributing 20% of our total carbon footprint. We aim to support them with sustainable practices, ensuring they can continue farming competitively and sustainably. “We mainly want to unburden and help them with sustainable practices, not cause them even more administrative pressure.”
Beyond the potato
Our ambition is to become the global reference in retail and food service, offering nutritious and tasty food. This involves a range of innovative products and a commitment to food safety and transparency. “It’s a baseline requirement. We don’t compromise on traceability and certifications,” affirmed Ward.
Watch the webinar for more
This recap only summarizes some key highlights and insights shared during our webinar. To dive deeper into Agristo’s sustainability journey and discover how we’re paving the way for a greener future, watch the full webinar below. Or you can go a step further and read our full report.
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We cherish and utilize the whole potato
We always aim for the highest possible valorization, which means that we do not want to waste food and maximize the use of our potato for human consumption. We are guided by the Moerman ladder, which ranks the most desirable and least desirable uses of food and resources. By this ladder, we can state that in 2023, we’ve reduced food loss of by-product to 25% and achieved 100% valorization.