Energy Transition Greenhouse Horticulture Covenant signed at Beekenkamp Group

CO2 emissions in greenhouse horticulture will be significantly reduced the coming years. On 30 November 2022, the Ministries of Agriculture, Economic Affairs and Climate and Finance signed the Covenant Energy Transition Greenhouse Horticulture 2022-2030 together with other parties from the horticulture sector. The parties will work on measures for energy saving and sustainability that are necessary for healthy and profitable greenhouse horticulture.

Signing the covenant

The signing took place at Beekenkamp Group, where 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 Director Beekenkamp Group, welcomed the ministries and other attendees from Glastuinbouw Nederland, Greenports Nederland and Gemeente Westland with a presentation and told more about the focus of Beekenkamp Group. After this, Philip van Zanten, Project and Energy Manager at Beekenkamp Group, gave a tour of the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and the geothermal heat connection. After this, the group, dressed in hygiene clothing, went into the greenhouse to make a tour along the cutting machines and sections with plants growing under LED lighting.

Interest

An Beekenkamp: “It’s important to keep talking to each other in times of crisis and I was pleasantly surprised by the invitation. I gladly took the opportunity to support the importance of the energy transition and to show what we as a company already do about it.” Philip van Zanten adds: “It is good to emphasize once again the need for quick, concrete measures for the current energy situation, because there is still work to be done. It is very important that the government get a good insight into what is going on in the sector.”

Reactions

This covenant is a follow-up to previous long-term agreements in which the Kas als Energiebron program formed the core. Prior to the signing, Piet Adema, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, said: “I am extremely proud of the greenhouse horticulture sector in the Netherlands. They are a global leader in sustainable production. But I am also aware of the great concerns that entrepreneurs have about the high gas prices. At the same time, we are jointly facing a major climate challenge in greenhouse horticulture. That is why this agreement is so important. We will accelerate energy conservation and sustainability in the coming years, so the sector can become climate neutral by 2040 and remain a global leader.”

On behalf of Glastuinbouw Nederland, Adri Bom-Lemstra responds to the why of a covenant: “Government and sector indicate with the covenant that cooperation is a precondition for the complex task that is the 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 encouraging and stimulating entrepreneurs to reduce the sector’s CO2 emissions. We count on a stable policy from the governments, this is the only way the sector can make good plans and gets moving.”

Future

Beekenkamp Group is proud to have been part of this impactful event and looks with confidence to the future of the Greenhouse Horticulture Energy Transition 2022-2030.