CO2 emissions in greenhouse horticulture will be significantly reduced in the coming years. To this end, the Ministries of Agriculture, Economic Affairs and Climate and Finance signed the Energy Transition Covenant Greenhouse Horticulture 2022-2030 with the greenhouse horticulture sector on November 30. The parties will work on measures for energy savings and sustainability that are necessary for a healthy and profitable greenhouse horticulture.
Signing
The signing took place at Beekenkamp Group, where among others Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Piet Adema, Minister of Climate and Energy Rob Jetten and State Secretary of Finance Marnix van Rij were present. An Beekenkamp, General Manager Beekenkamp Group, welcomed the ministries and other attendees from, among others, Greenhouse Horticulture Netherlands, Greenports Netherlands and Municipality of Westland through a presentation and told more about the focus of the family business Beekenkamp Group. After this, Philip van Zanten, Project and Energy Manager at Beekenkamp Group, gave a tour of the Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) and the geothermal connection. After this, the group, dressed in hygiene clothing, went into the greenhouse to take a tour of the cutting machines and departments with plants growing under LED lighting.
Importance
An Beekenkamp: “It is important to keep talking to each other in times of crisis and I was pleasantly surprised by the invitation. I gladly used the opportunity to support the importance of the energy transition and show what we as a company are already doing about it.” Philip van Zanten added: “It is good to reiterate the need for quick, concrete measures for the current energy situation, as there is still undiminished work to be done. It is important that the ministers get a good view of what is happening on the ground and this has contributed to that.”
Comments
This covenant is a follow-up to previous multi-year agreements in which the Greenhouse as a Source of Energy program was at the core. Piet Adema, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality said prior to the signing, “I am enormously proud of the greenhouse horticulture sector in the Netherlands. It leads the world in sustainable production. But I am also aware of the great concerns among entrepreneurs about the high gas prices. At the same time, together we face a major climate challenge in greenhouse horticulture. That is why this covenant is so important. We are going to accelerate energy savings and sustainability in the coming years, so that the sector can become climate-neutral in 2040 and remain a global leader.”
On behalf of Glastuinbouw Nederland, Adri Bom-Lemstra commented on why a covenant was needed: “With the covenant, the government and the sector are indicating that cooperation is a prerequisite for the complex task of energy transition. By working together, knowledge, commitment and the innovative capacity of the sector can be utilized and supported, and the right balance can be achieved between stimulating and encouraging entrepreneurs to reduce the sector’s CO2 emissions. In doing so, we count on stable policies from governments, only then can the sector make good plans and get moving.”
Future
Beekenkamp Group is proud to have been part of this impactful event and looks with confidence to the future of Energy Transition Greenhouse Horticulture 2022-2030.
