Our responsibility

People, planet,protein

At the Jan Zandbergen Group, we strive for relevant innovation. We proudly collaborate with colleagues, suppliers, and other stakeholders to shape an innovative future. Our efforts for a better world for people, animals, and nature have led to the development of a strategy contributing to a sustainable future.

The strategy for 2030, called “People, Planet, Protein,” is central to achieving our goals. This strategy focuses on three essential areas of attention, forming the foundation of our sustainability strategy.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals. This is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that everyone experiences peace and prosperity by 2030. These goals perfectly align with our vision. For this reason, we monitor the impact of our activities on people and the environment according to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This directive is also central to the European Union’s ambitious Green Deal. The goal? Achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

"The goal of our 'People, Planet, Protein' strategy is to inspire, activate, and guide in our decision-making when setting goals, so that we can achieve our 2030 ambitions.".

people

Our ambition for 2030 is to invest in the well-being of our employees and to build a dedicated team that strives to deliver outstanding performance. To achieve this, we inspire our corporate culture, offer good working conditions, and manage health and safety in the workplace. We believe that these actions will help us fulfill our ambition and create a productive and positive working environment.

Planet

We strive to create a sustainable supply chain, providing better nutrition for more people while considering the welfare of our livestock. Our ambition is to proactively contribute to global climate action, build an efficient operation, and maintain a future-proof reputation. To achieve this, we take important actions such as reducing greenhouse gases, combating pollution, and decreasing water usage. We are committed to having a positive impact on the environment and society by delivering high-quality nutrition and ensuring animal welfare.

Protein

Our ambition is to provide better nutrition to more people and meet the growing demand for food. We aim for sustainable growth of our company and promote protein innovation. To achieve this, we facilitate and accelerate protein innovation and increase the availability of sustainably sourced and produced protein for various customer segments. We also promote a culture of food safety and strive to contribute to a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet of protein. Our focus is on creating positive impacts in nutrition and sustainability while simultaneously meeting the needs of a growing population.

Taking responsibility:people, society, animal welfare and the environment

At the Jan Zandbergen Group, one of our core values is taking responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, means taking responsibility for your actions and demonstrating a commitment to people, society and the environment.

What does this mean for the Jan Zandbergen Group in practice?:

People & animal welfare

We take our business relations and their interests very seriously. We strive to listen carefully to what they have to say and to provide quality service. And we don’t hesitate to work together with our clients on the development of new products that effectively align with their specific needs.
Our employees are of crucial importance to us, and the bedrock of our entire organisation. That is why we invest in training and education, a solid work placement programme (we are a recognised training company), safe working conditions and staff health.
We opt for animal welfare throughout the whole chain. That is why we choose our suppliers with care and visit them before we do business with them. We want to see with our own eyes where the meat comes from, how the animals live and how the slaughter and processing process works. Also we made a public pledge to support the Better Chicken Commitment; the leading set of standards for broiler welfare driving the food industry towards higher welfare practices.
As a third-generation family business, we have a very keen awareness of our responsibility towards the next generation and the world we will be leaving behind for them. We are responsible for contributing to the preservation and, where necessary, restoration of our beautiful planet.

Jan Zandbergen supports theBlack Jaguar Foundation

The Black Jaguar Foundation (BJF) is an international non-profit organisation that works to realise the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor: the largest green corridor in the world, and one of the biggest reforestation projects in South America.

One of the activities undertaken in connection with the realisation of the Araguaia Corridor is the replanting of millions of indigenous trees, restoring agricultural land to its original state: as part of the habitat of the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado Savanna. These ecosystems are of vital importance to our future! They generate 20% of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, filter 30% of all fresh water and are the source of 25% of all modern medicines.

Environment: more sustainable processes

We want to continue to reduce our carbon footprint and cut back our consumption of power and water as far as possible. That is why we constantly seek to identify new opportunities to save resources within our processes. Allow us to offer a few examples:

NH3-installation

Our temperature-controlled units use an NH3 system. Ammonia (NH3) is one of the most efficient coolants available. And an NH3 system forms the most energy-efficient solution for key cooling and refrigerated applications.

Insulation

Our temperature-controlled units have been fitted with extra-thick insulation panels to reduce power consumption. In addition, their doors close automatically, so less heat enters the unit, and it can maintain a lower temperature.

Heat recovery system

In 2009, we took a temperature-controlled unit into operation that includes a heat recovery system that collects heat from the exhaust for re-use. This substantially reduces the unit’s power consumption, which has a positive impact on operating costs and the environment.

Solar panels

We have installed solar panels on various sections of our roofs in Veenendaal. This allows us to generate sustainable, green electricity that can be used to power a share of our processes.

Led lighting

We use sustainable LED lighting in our production areas and temperature-controlled units. These lights are fitted with motion sensors so they only switch on at full power when required. Our newest (2015) refrigerated units – which are also our largest – have an automated crane system. As a result, our employees are hardly ever required to enter the actual unit – meaning that the lights can stay off most of the time.

BREEAM-NL

In early 2018, we took Diviande’s new production location into use. Designing the building, we paid close attention to sustainability, and the contractors moreover worked according to BREEAM-NL requirements. As a result, the location has been awarded the highest BREEAM-NL Outstanding certificate. This impressive 5-star score is a truly unique accomplishment in the Food sector. It underlines how we strive to distinguish ourselves in this area.

LNG-truck

When we replaced one of our trucks in 2020, we consciously opted for one that runs on LNG rather than diesel fuel. This cuts the vehicle’s carbon emissions by an average of 20%.

Nature and origin of plant proteins

We are steadily expanding the share of plant protein products in our range. A lot of products made from plant proteins contain soy. Soy has a somewhat controversial image since its production is often mentioned in the same breath as deforestation in the Amazon or China. We have set the following requirements for the soy used in our own product range:

The soy has been certified by a European certification body.
85% of the power consumed during production comes from a renewable source (hydropower).
Thanks to a unique production method, no chemicals are used in the extraction of proteins.
The soy is GMO-free.

In addition, we also develop and produce plant-based products that contain no soy whatsoever. The other plant proteins in our own products are also sourced from European growers. This results in a very small carbon footprint.

Basic principles

We encourage our staff to be environmentally responsible in the workplace. This ranges from separating waste at the source, turning off any machines that won’t be used for a while to promoting fuel efficiency among our drivers.