Emissions

Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most pressing issues of our time and for the years to come. The Van Loon Group’s products and the processes required to manufacture them also contribute to these emissions.

This covers the company’s own direct and indirect emissions (Scope 1 and 2) and emissions in the value chain (Scope 3) in accordance with the SBTi Inventory.

Van Loon Group has committed to its 2030 CO₂ reduction targets, which have been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). These targets are fully aligned with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5°C. Our ultimate goal is to operate in a fully climate-neutral manner by 2050.

By far the largest part of the CO₂ footprint of our end products is created ‘upstream’ during the cultivation of animal feed and emissions in livestock housing. As a supply chain coordinator, Van Loon Group works together with livestock farmers and other partners in the supply chain to reduce the CO₂ footprint of the entire supply chain.

We have involved our customers in setting our emissions reduction targets. We also work closely with suppliers, livestock farmers and feed suppliers to achieve these targets. In this way, we minimise our environmental impact and contribute to healthy communities.

We monitor progress towards our targets by calculating greenhouse gas emissions based on both activity data and average figures. We publish this progress annually in our CSR annual report.

•  ESRS E1 – Climate Change
•  SBTi
•  GHG Protocol

•  Scope 3 – GHG emissions – purchased goods and services
•  Emissions reduction measures: efficient feed rations for cows and/or pigs

CSO

By 2025, our Scope 1 and 2 emissions will have fallen by 10% and we will have already achieved our 2030 target! We have achieved emission reductions by using less energy: 2% less gas (67,000 m³), 7% less electricity (3,230 MWh) and 7% less fuel (9,000 L). On the other hand, there was a 19% increase in emissions due to refrigerant leaks, particularly at the Oude Tonge site. On balance, this resulted in a total emissions reduction of 10%

Fossil Scope 3 emissions within the SBTi inventory have fallen by 1.2%. Despite this slight decrease, we are currently not on track to meet the 2030 reduction target for Scope 3 non-FLAG emissions. The largest contribution within this scope comes from the procurement of goods and services. Although total emissions in this category have remained virtually stable, emissions related to purchased packaging materials have risen by 5% compared to the previous year. Packaging materials account for approximately 45% of upstream emissions within the procurement of goods and services. Emissions from waste processing and transport have fallen slightly. To achieve further reductions, efforts are being focused on the electrification of transport activities.

FLAG emissions – resulting from forestry, land use and agricultural activities – have fallen by over 6% (146,800 tonnes of CO₂-eq). The reduction is mainly attributable to a shift in our procurement volumes: less volume with a higher carbon footprint, particularly beef, and more plant-based raw materials and pork with a lower carbon footprint. The calculation is based on unchanged emission factors. Emission reductions already achieved within the pig supply chain have not yet been included in this figure.

In 2026, we will also process our pig farmers’ CO₂ data for 2024 and 2025 via the blockchain. From the 2026 reporting year onwards, we will include this primary data in our Scope 3 calculations.
 
Ongoing projects for waste reduction, energy savings and more recyclable packaging materials will also continue in 2026. However, the transition to more recyclable packaging, particularly mono-materials, may lead to a (limited) increase in Scope 3 non-FLAG emissions. This is because more material is sometimes required to achieve the same barrier properties to ensure product quality and shelf life.
 
Together with our suppliers, we will take further steps in 2026 towards the electrification of transport to reduce emissions within the logistics chain.

After connecting our pig farmers to the blockchain in 2024, we uploaded the data for 2023 to the blockchain last year and checked it for completeness and accuracy. We then used an automated CO2 calculator to calculate the exact CO₂ footprint of our pig farmers for 2023. The calculator applies methodological principles that are as closely aligned as possible with the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) guidelines. The sector-specific implementation of these calculation rules was drawn up and validated by the Dutch pig sector in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research.

The calculation of our CO2 -footprint and the associated CO2 reduction targets, validated by the SBTi, is based on emission factors from AgriFootprint 5.0.

This Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database, developed by Blonk (now part of Mérieux NutriSciences), provides a detailed set of emission factors specifically aimed at the agriculture and food sector, including representative data for Dutch pig farming. Compared with the reference year of 2019, we achieved a reduction of over 33% in 2023. This is clear evidence that supply chain management within our VOB supply chain is delivering tangible results!