Potato starch manufacturer Avebe is taking further sustainability measures. In addition to a positive effect on the environment, the sum of these measures should result in a 500 euro higher income per hectare for the members. Avebe states this in its annual report.
Avebe says it pays particular attention to a high-quality raw material that is grown in a sustainable and transparent manner. The aim of the Avebe management is to increase the member income per hectare of starch potatoes by 500 euros. This is due to a reduction in CO2 emissions, a lower use of crop protection agents and a higher starch production per hectare.
3 x 10 percent
In summary, the target for 2023 is to achieve three times 10 percent: 10 percent lower environmental impact per hectare, 10 percent more potato starch and protein from one hectare and a 10 percent lower CO2 emission per ton of potato starch. Avebe also wants to allocate 3,000 hectares of the acreage for new varieties (Averis varieties).
Ecological footprint
The management of the cooperative emphasizes that it has the ecological footprint, in line with the (inter) national targets for 2030, in the fields of energy, water and waste. We achieve this through clean production and socially responsible business operations. The targets for 2023 are: 10 percent lower CO2 emissions per tonne of product compared to 2017/2018. 20 percent lower water consumption compared to 2017/2018. And a 25 percent reduction in both the waste flows from tare and from sewage sludge compared to 2017/2018. Avebe also focuses on the use of renewable energy.
In this context, Avebe has been leasing its former flow fields in Nieuw-Buinen to the Solarfields company since the summer of 2020. This for the realization of the Hollandia solar park. This park represents more than a third on Avebe grounds. 300,000 solar panels will be placed here on a plot of approximately 100 hectares. A similar, but smaller project of 11 megawatts is being carried out by Avebe together with the company PowerField at its location in Ter Apelkanaal.
Water consumption
Water is a very important resource for Avebe. Its goal is to use 20 percent less water by 2023 compared to 2017/2018. The Ter Apelkanaal site consumes approximately 80 percent of the total water. That is why Avebe focuses primarily on this location. By transferring the production of a number of starch derivatives to the location in Foxhol, where it is efficiently integrated, Avebe was able to close a production line in Ter Apelkanaal and now saves approximately 3 million m³ of dilution water annually. Water reduction remains an important point of attention at all locations.
Performance price 95 euros / ton
Avebe aims to achieve a performance price of 95 euros per tonne of potatoes under normal harvesting conditions by 2023. The performance price represents the realizable value per ton of potatoes. It is one of the most important indicators of the result that the cooperative achieves for its members. Avebe calculates the performance price on the basis of three components: the potato money (the money that Avebe pays all members for the potatoes delivered, including all related performance components and discounts), the cooperative result (the financial result of the cooperative) and the other performance components such as custody fee and costs of loading and transport.
Based on these three components, the performance price for 2019/2020 amounted to 96.15 euros. For 2018/2019 this amounted to 96.63 euros and 85, 81 euros for the year 2017/2018. Avebe aims to achieve a performance price of 95 euros for 2023.
