HELSINKI, Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kekkilä-BVB has set demanding targets to become a net positive company by 2030, guided by their sustainability roadmap with eight concrete targets. One example of Kekkilä-BVB's sustainability actions is to launch products containing sphagnum moss for professional growers and retail customers.
"It is quite natural for horticultural companies to talk about sustainability, since we are all contributing in making the world a greener place one way or the other. But that is not enough. It's all about how we do it," says Juha Mäkinen, CEO of Kekkilä-BVB.
Kekkilä-BVB became the leading horticultural company in Europe after Finnish Kekkilä and Dutch BVB Substrates joined forces.
"With big size comes also big responsibility. It is our obligation to promote biodiversity and to participate in preventing the effects of climate change. We have taken the stand to be a promoter for sustainable horticultural business and to enable our customers to meet their sustainability goals," Mäkinen says.
Sustainability roadmap steers actions
Kekkilä-BVB's sustainability work is guided by a sustainability roadmap. It consists of four focus areas with measurable targets. These focus areas are related to the wellbeing of people in the value chain, creating sustainable new innovations for food production and living, promoting circular economy and enhancing biodiversity.
"Concreteness is very much needed in sustainability work. This was a very clear message both from our customers and personnel when we made our sustainability roadmap. One way to add concreteness is to openly measure the negative and positive impact. This is why we are participating in Growing Media Europe's work in calculating LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) for different growing media materials. This builds the base for the sustainability standard for the European growing media industry", concludes Mäkinen.
From talk to action
An example of Kekkilä-BVB's sustainability driven business approach is the launch of substrates containing sphagnum moss at the global horticultural fair, IPM Essen.
Sphagnum moss grows on top of the peat bogs and has not started to decompose like peat. As a living material it regrows relatively quick. Less water is needed for crops grown with sphagnum moss, since it has a large water holding capacity. Tests have also shown excellent growth results.
"To ensure our customers' success and that the growth results are optimal, we have done extensive tests before launching our products with sphagnum moss. We see that as part of our responsibility," adds Mäkinen.
Since sphagnum moss is a novelty raw material and acts differently than peat, it is not yet RHP (quality mark for substrates) certified. Kekkilä-BVB is co-operating with RHP to have it certified according to RHP's standards.
Read more about Kekkilä-BVB's concrete sustainability cases here: kekkila-bvb.com/sustainability
CONTACT:
Juha Mäkinen, CEO, Kekkilä-BVB: juha.makinen@kekkila-bvb.com, tel. +358-40-046-4549
Brand and Communications Director Nina Kinnunen Kekkilä-BVB nina.kinnunen@kekkila-bvb.com
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