The 12 companies that make up growers' association Air So Pure are going to calculate their footprint annually. They will do this in cooperation with Greenhouse Sustainability, which offers the Flori Footprint Tool for this purpose. The footprint calculations are part of a long-term plan to take major steps in sustainability in the coming years.

Air So Pure is the brand and growers association of the same name with 12 growers of highly air-purifying plants. The assortment includes Spathiphyllum, Nephrolepis, Monstera, Kentia, Calathea, Dracaena, and Hedera. All products have been scientifically tested and have substantiated strong air-purifying properties. “As a growers” association, we have ambitious goals, one of which is sustainability,“ says Pim van der Knaap of KP Holland. Within the board of Air So Pure, he is responsible for this theme. ”Clean air naturally has a clear match with sustainability. That's why we feel a certain responsibility to take up that gauntlet. But we are a diverse club. That's why it's good when the noses are in the same direction. Some are further along with sustainability than others. That's not a bad thing. But to make sure everyone does stay on top of it, we have agreed with each other that we all do an annual footprint calculation according to the rules of the FloriPEFCR."

Uniformity
Air So Pure deliberately chose to work with Greenhouse Sustainability on this, Van der Knaap points out. “If at some point you want to start working with the output of the footprint calculations and compare the calculations within the club, uniformity of the calculations is desirable. From KP Holland we already had good experiences with Greenhouse Sustainability. They have people who know their stuff and have worked with the Flori Footprint Tool developed a good tool. That's why we started talking to them from Air So Pure as well.”

An important additional element is the Administrator Tool, which makes it possible within Air So Pure to compare the results of individual companies. “This is of course enormously interesting, because it ensures that we can also compare and improve ourselves with each other. As a collective, we have the objective of producing more sustainably and part of that is that we want to achieve an annual footprint reduction of 5% as a group. You can only achieve that if you have sufficient insight into each other's performance.” 

Reduce threshold
Because where the move to geothermal energy has a big impact for an individual grower, it has a smaller impact on the overall group. “By linking all achievements, we can also make great strides as a whole growers” association. Moreover, it helps to motivate each other to continue,“ says Van der Knaap. In addition, the companies that are already further along with sustainability can help the others within the club where necessary, he points out. ”For example, one of our members has employed a student to take on all the data processing for the footprint calculation. Other companies can also use his services, which lowers the barrier to get started."

Since Jan. 1, Air So Pure has had the calculation tool at its disposal. Now it is up to individual companies to decide when to start working on their calculations. “Everyone is free to do that and should pick it up at their own pace. But ultimately the goal is that at the end of the year we can compare the results with last year, so we can build from there.”