Südzucker earns certificate for sustainable beet cultivation in Europe

Südzucker AG and its sugar beet farmers in Belgium, France, Germany and Poland have successfully demonstrated that their beet cultivation are sustainable.

By obtaining the REDcert2 certificate in Germany, France and Poland they have additionally proven that the methods used comply with the silver status criteria of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI) at the first go. In Belgium, they could refer back to the existing Vegaplan system for this. More than 34,000 sugar beet growers and Südzucker document that their operations comply with strict environmental and social standards related to raw material cultivation and processing. The farmers' focus is on optimizing plant protection and providing adequate but not excessive fertilization, in addition to taking steps to increase soil fertility and biodiversity. Südzucker, which has a long tradition of conducting business sustainably, worked with its beet growers to develop and implement a documentation system that customers could use to demonstrate the sustainability of the practices seamlessly along the entire value chain.

"We are proud to have been able to transnationally document the sustainability of our beet growing operations together with the farmers. The fact that Südzucker Group was able to successfully demonstrate compliance with REDcert2 certificate and SAI requirements is thanks mainly to the trusting partnership we have with our farmers. It would not have been possible without their unwavering commitment to sustainability," said Dr. Thomas Kirchberg, member of Südzucker AG's Executive board. "The certificate confirms that our sustainability programs are on track. We will continue along this path together with the farmers because we are confident that by doing so we are responding to the demands of the market," he added in signaling the company's policy going forward.