ENVIRONMENT

By making our product range more sustainable, developing circular systems and reducing our operational footprint, we actively work towards lowering our environmental impact.

Making our product range more sustainable

As a trade company, our products are responsible for 95% of our total environmental impact. With the help of our product range division, we are able to make our own product range more sustainable. It also serves as a useful tool with which to make our clients’ product ranges more sustainable as well. Together, we can get the world of packaging moving towards more environmentally friendly solutions.

Products with this icon: a more sustainable alternative

As it can be difficult for our clients to find out just how sustainable a packaging really is, we decided to do the hard work for them. This icon helps clients to make conscious and more sustainable choices. Products in our range that bear this icon are more sustainable alternatives.

We select these more sustainable products by looking at the various phases of the product life cycle. The biggest impact for our products comes from the raw materials, production and waste processing. Our more sustainable choices reduce their environmental impact during the raw materials phase by utilising recycled content or FSC-certified materials. The waste phase is also taken into account by making these products recyclable at a large scale.

> View in our catalog which articles are provided with the more sustainable choice icon

FSC-certified packaging and decorative materials

When it comes to bio-based materials such as wooden stick-ins, paper flower packaging and cardboard shipping boxes, we opt for the FSC-certified variant, which is guaranteed to come from responsibly managed forests. Our product range also includes an FSC®-certified cardboard flower bucket. Look for the FSC® logo in the catalogue, which denotes our FSC®-certified products.
The independent international FSC certification (Forest Stewardship Council) guarantees that the raw materials used for the production of wooden and paper products come from responsibly managed forests. In these responsibly managed forests, the biodiversity and other ecological benchmarks of the forest are preserved and protected. Furthermore, the social and economic wellbeing of local forestry workers and communities is protected or improved in the long run.

Recycled glass

Made of 100% recycled glass, monomaterial, 100% recyclable
Glass is a renewable resource that can be recycled over and over again without loss of quality or purity. Over the past two years, we have replaced more than 40% of our glass collection with 100% recycled glass. The steady growth of the percentage of recycled glass coincides with the gradual reduction of our use of energy and raw materials. With its limitless opportunities for reuse, packaging made from recycled glass is an excellent example of a sustainable solution with a minimal environmental impact.

Shipping boxes for flowers and plants

Made of 72% recycled wood fibres, FSC-certified, monomaterial, 100% recyclable
Our shipping boxes are made of 72% recycled wood fibres. The remaining 28% comes from sustainably managed and FSC-certified forests. Renewable wood fibres can be recycled up to seven times before they are used to generate energy or broken down through biological means. To keep our products 100% recyclable, we use non-toxic adhesives and water-based inks in our production process.

Recy® 40 Sheet

Made of 40% packaging waste
The new Recy 40 sheet represents the latest development in the field of sustainable flower sheets. The sheet is an excellent and more sustainable choice for any horticultural company that wishes to preserve the aesthetic value of its flowers, while also complying with the UK's import regulations. The sheets are made with 40% plastic waste that is collected via the Dutch flower auctions. This product therefore far exceeds the British legal requirement for plastic packaging, which has to contain at least 30% recycled material. On top of that, the monomaterial ensures that the sheets can be recycled again after use. Their frost look guarantees that end customers can still see the flowers and their vibrant colours.

Thinner flower/plant sleeves

In recent years, Broekhof has concretely reduced its environmental impact in various ways. We have taken major steps towards making our entire line of plastic flower/plant sleeves more sustainable by reducing their thickness from 40 microns to 35 microns, which has resulted in a 12.5% reduction of our use of plastic. For our composite sleeves (made from paper and plastic), we have made the plastic component more sustainable by reducing its thickness from 40 microns to 35 microns.
Although these sleeves now contain less plastic, they are still strong enough to protect the flowers and plants. As an added benefit, the sleeves are more affordable for our clients, because less material is used in their production.
For our client-specific packaging solutions, we also give clients the option of choosing a thinner flower/plant sleeve.
Clients can already opt for the thinner variant of film in order to save plastic. More and more clients are choosing this option.