This week, I attended the International Floriculture Trade Fair and the Trade Fair Aalsmeer in person. Aside from the coronavirus checks at the entrance and fist bumps as greetings, everything was finally ‘back to normal’. I met entrepreneurs from all over the world. Hundreds of companies showed off their beautiful flowers, plants, decorations and packaging. And I found plenty of inspiration; the green sector is doing very well.
At the same time, these weeks for world leaders and media are dominated by the UN climate summit in Glasgow. At the world stage, agreements are being made to limit deforestation, methane emissions and coal mining. Step by step, every sector of the economy is being held under a magnifying glass to determine its impact on the climate. And ‘climate action’ is just one of the UN’s global sustainability goals (www.globalgoals.org).
For many companies, especially those in temperate climates, energy can be the second-highest cost post, or even the highest. Variations in energy prices, as is the case today with natural gas, have a big effect on our profits and future perspectives. That’s where economics and climate come together. We are highly dependent on fossil energy. The general recommendation for climate-neutral operations is: 1) to conserve, 2) to use green energy, and 3) to compensate for the rest. Two major causes for our carbon footprint are artificial fertiliser and transportation.
Carbon footprint is a subject that comes up again and again in our conversations with other companies. Legislation in the field of supply chain due diligence will require buyers to ask for more information about their growers’ sustainability efforts. Measurements will also become better and better over the next few years. It starts with a company’s carbon footprint, but then they ask about transport or the footprint per stalk or pot. And like many other sectors, this will increase our administrative burden. MPS will therefore do everything in our power to keep the administration simple and to ensure that the data entered can be used for multiple purposes.
In the meantime, I hope you can find inspiration to adapt your show to the changing world stage, so that the audience will continue to line up at the door.
