We take our responsibility seriously

De Menken Keuken has grown. That is good news, but that growth also demands a higher level of corporate social responsibility. We take that responsibility seriously. Every day. For example, we continually reduce our energy consumption, we do not cover more kilometres than necessary, we limit wastage and we continually reduce our use of packaging materials. In addition, we care about people and planet.

 

Here, we explain how we put our promises into practice.

 

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We provide a good working environment for our people

Corporate social responsibility is synonymous with global issues, such as the future and our planet. Nevertheless, we can – and should – also make a difference closer to home. Therefore, we strive to create a pleasant working environment for our people. A place where they enjoy working and where they feel like part of the business. Friends and family members are always more than welcome to attend our open day.

 

Our open day is an opportunity for friends and family of our employees to see exactly what goes on inside De Menken Keuken. Young and old don protective clothing, everyone is given a tour, and afterwards, we enjoy a bite and a drink together. It is a simple idea that generates unprecedented motivation.

 

We also enjoy involving our people in business decisions. For example, we inform them in advance and invite their input regarding proposed plans and investments. We also conduct periodic organisational health scans to evaluate employee satisfaction objectively.

 

In terms of tangible support, our organisation works with a regular team of physiotherapists. They advise us regarding ergonomic design of the workplace so that we can prevent injuries. If an employee should develop a health complaint regardless, we provide prompt assistance, even if they do not have insurance.

 

 

Working together on healthy choices

Saturated fats increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we switched to rapeseed oil, which contains considerably less saturated fats than soybean oil. We have also reduced the volume of fat in our base sauce. In 2013, we reduced the salt content of the best sellers in our meat range.

 

Salt reduction is an important factor when it comes to healthy, responsible eating. We even analysed and modified the sandwich fillings that scored amongst our top 3 for years. With success. Since June 2013, our shoulder of ham, luncheon meat and grilled sausage have scored far below the national guidelines for salt content. The salt content of all our meat products is now 5% below the national average and saturated fat content is 27% below the national average. Of course, the taste is just as good as it has always been.

 

Sometimes, we are able to make even more groundbreaking changes quickly. For example, when we develop new recipes in partnership with our clients. Thanks to such joint initiatives, at least 58% of our salads now contain less salt, fat and allergens and are entirely free of artificial flavourings and colourings.

 

 

We are cutting our use of packaging

We monitor the packaging of our meat products and salads very closely. We have reduced the amount of plastic in most of our injection-moulded packaging, reducing our plastic consumption by at least 16,433 kg and our cardboard salad trays now bear the official FSC hallmark. However, we also monitor the packaging of…packaging.

 

We develop that packaging in collaboration with our suppliers, because there are gains to be made there too. For example, our eggs are no longer supplied in plastic, but in containers. Carrots now arrive whole. Since we now do our own slicing, plastic packaging is no longer necessary. Our carrots simply arrive whole in crates. Since 2014, 62% of our injection-moulded packaging is supplied in steel cages rather than cardboard boxes: that saves 21,300 kg of cardboard a year.

 

Meat arrives in easily recyclable jumbo containers, ingredients like gherkins and celery arrive in 10 kg packs instead of 5, and we will shortly have our little salad trays supplied in steel cages that can be used repeatedly.

 

 

We contribute to animal welfare

The fisheries that supply the shrimps, crab, tuna and salmon for our salads are MSC certified. Just like us. Naturally, we operate according to FISHindex guidelines. All eggs used in our salads come from barn-roaming chickens and we now prepare the base sauce for all our salads with egg yolk from barn-roaming chickens. At the end of 2015, a significant component (29%) of our salads is made with free-range egg yolk and a significant component of our egg salads with free-range eggs. We have also greatly expanded our organic and vegetarian range.

 

We have been Skal certified since 2011. Skal certification denotes the use of demonstrably organic products. We now supply our supermarkets with three 100% organic salads: chicken curry, egg and tuna. In total, we prepare around 90,000 kg organic salads a year.

 

We have made even greater strides with chicken: in collaboration with our clients and with the chain, we prepare all our chicken salads with ‘Kip voor morgen’ chickens. Soon, like a large component of our meat range, they will all carry the ‘Beter leven’ animal welfare hallmark.

 

In addition, we added a series of 100% vegetarian salads to our range. In partnership with the Vegetarian Butcher in The Hague, we now make a vegetarian chicken curry, tuna, and chicken satay salad.

 

We are greener and use less energy

The construction of our new factory in Sassenheim has given us a neat advantage. Our new refrigeration facility produces at least 70% less CO2 emissions than the installation in our previous factory. Another benefit: this new installation uses carbon dioxide instead of freon greenhouse gas, is less susceptible to leakage, and is far easier to maintain than the previous one. We also conserve energy through effective insulation.

 

Effective insulation of both the premises and the refrigeration and freezing facilities, conserves energy. Freezer doors shut automatically within ten seconds. When the doors are open, an air lock system keeps cold air inside.

 

We have invested in double-walled tanks to store hot water. This water is no longer heated by gas, but by the heat generated by our cooling engine. As a result, our consumption of gas has declined sharply.

 

Not only do we consume less energy; the energy we consume is becoming greener. Producing our own wind or solar –generated power is still an aspiration, but together with our energy supplier, we have been able to ensure that 20% of our electricity consumption is already green.

 

 

Purified water, less water, efficient kilometres

Where possible, we reduce our environmental footprint. For example, our water purification system has reduced pollution by 58% by filtering fat from our wastewater.

 

The water we use to cool our twelve meat processing lines runs on a closed system, thus preventing water wastage. However, sometimes it is the smallest difference that produces the biggest change.

 

For example, we reduced the size of the nozzles of our high-pressure sprayers. Thus, we have retained the high pressure, but we use far less water. Moreover, we use the high-pressure sprayers far less: these days, we simply use buckets, brushes and sponges to clean equipment and floors. That conserves a great deal of water.

 

In terms of return transport, we ensure we do not travel more than necessary: when one of our vehicles delivers a load, the same vehicle collects raw materials or packaging from our supplier on the return leg, if possible.

 

We believe in ethical business practices

The more we cooperate within the chain, the greater the future benefits. In more ways than one. Therefore, we participate in the Supply Chain Initiative. Together, we promote ethical business practices at European level between contract partners in the food supply chain.

 

Charitable causes

Every week, we donate salads and meat products to two food banks in our area. We hope to support a number of families that way. We also support sports associations. They can all use support and assistance.