Author: Jolanda van Schaick

Plan International is a development cooperation organization, supporting children (especially girls and young women) in more than 75 countries. Climate change and other forms of environmental degradation have a large impact on women and children (especially girls). (more…)

Dutch company Catz international BV is an important importer of all kinds of tropical food ingredients, including spices. The company has implemented Responsible Business Conduct Policies aiming to identify and mitigate possible risks in the area of, among other topics, child labour in its supply chains. (more…)

The Green Leaders network of VNO-NCW and MKB Nederland consists of entrepreneurs who invest in the development of a circular economy, in the energy transition and in biodiversity. In this network, entrepreneurs from different sectors find each other on sustainable challenges; from start-ups and scale-ups, and family businesses to multinationals. (more…)

On 29 June 2018 the Dutch Agreement on International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) for the Food Products sector was signed by three branch organisations (FNLI, CBL and KNSV), two ministries, two trade unions, three civil society organisations and the Sustainable Trade Initiative. The Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) is responsible for general coordination. (more…)

A large number of civil society organisations, private sector organisations and government bodies have joined forces in the Deltaplan biodiversiteitherstel (Action Plan for Biodiversity Restoration). Together these organisations aim to restore biodiversity in the Netherlands, among others in agricultural regions. For this purpose it is crucial that farmers get sufficient incentives for producing in a biodiversity friendly manner, for example through improved sales prospects in the foodservice sector. (more…)

In the beginning of 2020, by order of a consortium consisting of Solina Netherlands, Doens Food, Spicemasters and the Royal Dutch Spices Association (KNSV), CREM started a project to eradicate child labour from spices supply chains. The focus is on two specific product-country combinations (PCC): chilli peppers from India and black pepper from Vietnam. CREM was hired as project coordinator and to assist the companies in optimising their due diligence management in the area of Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) and to support the development of action plans for the two supply chains. (more…)

In order to help solving the nitrogen problem, the Green Leaders network of VNO-NCW connected 45 innovative companies to five nitrogen challenges for agriculture, construction and industry. From these 45 matches, 14 have been selected that score high on nitrogen reduction, economic feasibility and scalability (see video 5 min). (more…)

End of 2019, CREM started a Circular Restaurants Leaders Group in the cities of Haarlem and Rotterdam. These Leaders groups are a follow-up to the Circular Hotels Leaders Group that started in 2017. The Leaders groups in Haarlem and Rotterdam consist of around 20 restaurants each that, together as a group, explore circular solutions. Prevention of food waste plays is of course an important objective, but is not the only focal point. The project also focuses on circular procurement (from sustainably produced, local ingredients to circular clothing and alternatives for plastic straws), packaging, the menu, kitchen management, waste management and communication with guests. (more…)

Connecting or matchmaking, that is what it’s all about in the Green Leaders Network of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, known as VNO-NCW, and entrepreneurs’ organisation MKB-Nederland. Jolanda van Schaick of CREM is the  matchmaker of this network, responsible for connecting entrepreneurs in the area of circularity and the energy transition. (more…)

Eat like a Pioneer

The Dutch province Flevoland supports the production and consumption of sustainably produced food products from Flevoland. Chefs can play a key role in that context as they can both put such products on the menu and inspire their guests to use these ingredients at home. (more…)

Establishment PBAF

On initiative of ASN Bank, the ‘Partnership Biodiversity Accounting Financials’ (PBAF) was recently established. With this knowledge platform, ASN Bank and five other financial institutions (ACTIAM,  FMO, Robeco, Triodos Bank en Triple Jump) will focus on impact measurement of investments with a positive effect on biodiversity. CREM and PRé Sustainability will support the platform in this effort.

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IRBC Agreements and upcoming legislation on child labour

In the past few years, by order of several companies CREM has executed a number of projects aiming to analyse and eradicate child labour in supply chains. Firstly, this concerned metal supply chains, both primary metal ores and secondary metals, for which research took place in Peru and Ghana respectively. Secondly, the problem of child labour was assessed in a number of spices supply chains: cumin from Turkey, cardamom from Guatemala and turmeric from India. (more…)