Corporate Social Responsibility

Respect for both humans and animals is what the Schils and VanDrie Group logo represents. Moreover, this is the starting point of our core activities and an important part of our Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. Taking responsibility for various social problems such as the environment and working conditions. Finding a balance between the 3P’s: People (talent), Planet (raw materials) and Profit (healthy profit), is central to this.

Consumers are becoming increasingly critical of production processes and the origin of scarce raw materials used for the production of milk powder. It is important to Schils to pay attention to environment, animal welfare, food safety and employees. 

Environment 

As the situation surrounding global warming and the scarcity of raw materials deteriorates, it is important that a company such as Schils keeps it ecological footprint as small as possible.

By burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, CO2 is released into the air. This is a major cause of the greenhouse effect, which causes global warming; an increase in sea level, drought, extreme weather and disruption of our ecosystems.

Over 20 million hectares of land are covered with palm oil plantations. In order to produce palm oil, rain forests and primeval forests are cut down, peatlands are cleared and local communities have to sign over their land.

Therefore, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ensures that RSPO-certified palm oil is produced according to their certification standard. The certification standard for sustainable palm oil helps to protect nature and people; it ensures fair working conditions, protects the land and the rights of the local population, protects primeval forests and wild animals on plantations, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and industrial pollution.

For production and sales in the Netherlands, as well as German sales and for customer-specific requirements, we purchase traceability certificates in accordance with the guidelines of the Nevedi Agreement on Sustainable Palm Oil in the Netherlands. We purchase these certificates from a company that produces these palm and palm-derived products according to RSPO principles and criteria.

The scarcity of raw materials causes that the use of raw materials must be handled with care and that our raw materials are no longer imported, but are produced within Europe wherever possible. The latter is something we encourage by sourcing our raw materials from our immediate vicinity as much as possible. The largest share of our raw materials originates from Europe.

Furthermore, the soy we use is sustainably produced. We purchase soy according to the Nevedi Sustainable Soy Convention. Intensive soy cultivation has negative consequences, like damage to nature, violation of land rights of the local population and excessive use of plant protection products. The Nevedi Sustainable Soy Convention is a member of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), which promotes the responsible production, processing and trade of soy on a global level.

Animals, plants and people cannot live without phosphate. Phosphate is an important part of the feed produced by us. Because the supply of easily extractable phosphate is finite and phosphate is not replaceable by another resource, it is important that phosphate is used efficiently. In 2016, the VanDrie Group, including Schils BV, reduced the phosphate content in its feed. This has led to a phosphate use reduction of 7%.

Responsible use of antibiotics 

Antibiotics are used in livestock farming to cure bacterial infections. The use of antibiotics is a present-day problem in the livestock industry. In order to prevent the further development of bacterial resistance against antibiotics, it is important that the use of antibiotics is further reduced. This to prevent that certain medicines can no longer be used on humans because bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. In 2017, antibiotics usage decreased by 58% compared to 2007.

Feeding milk replacers instead of cow’s milk is a safe step to ensure that calves receive milk that is free of antibiotics and diseases such as para-tuberculosis.

Moreover, we stimulate responsible use of antibiotic by offering a range of health-supporting products and concepts. To combat the use of antibiotics, we offer products that support the prevention of, among other things, diarrhoea and respiratory problems.

Organic products 

As the demand for organic products rises, the demand for organic animal feed also rises. Especially since EU legislation requires organic livestock farmers to feed 100% organic products. Therefore, we offer our customers Eurolac Bio and Novilam Bio milk powders. Both products meet the strict requirements of the European Union and are SKAL Bio certified. In every EU country, an independent organization supervises the production on behalf of the government. In the Netherlands, the respective organization is called Skal Biocontrole. 

ISO 14001 certificate

We are an ISO 14001 certified company for our activities concerning the development, production and transport of milk replacers for young animals. This means that we have an environmental management system that controls and, if possible, reduces the environmental risks that the development, production and transport of our milk replacers entail.

Ecological promotional gifts

Another aspect of our CSR policy are our business gifts. Think of cotton fair trade bags, reusable drinking bottles and reusable shopping bags. In addition, when selecting our assortment, we make the conscious choice for products that can be used for a long time.

Employees

In order to guarantee the quality of our employees, we offer continuous training in the field of food safety, animal welfare and safe working. The Safety Guard Academy is available online for employees; employees can take language courses, quality training courses, and first aid and emergency response courses.

We strive for a safe working environment with healthy, skilled employees who feel at home within our organization.

We pay attention to environment, animal welfare, food safety and employees.

We look beyond tomorrow. 

 

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