Two years ago, Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH) invited key players in the green industry to address the plastic problem in the market. What started as a wake-up call for participants has since grown into a fast-growing enterprise with companies from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland representing all levels of the green supply chain.
Matthijs Mesken, Managing Director VGB: "Together with 7 other partners, we founded Euro Plant Tray eG in August 2022, convinced that only a joint approach will lead to a future European standard. We are pleased that 14 more companies have now joined and that with the participation of Royal FloraHolland, Dutch Flower Group, FM Group and recently Floral Trade Group and Plantify Partners Europe (Royal Lemkes and Floreac), the Dutch part of the sector is now strongly represented in EPT work. Their links with retail customers will also ensure that development is shared with even more users and the EPT message is spread across Europe."
"Landgard has joined Euro Plant Tray eG to support the further development process towards a standard system of trays. We have been in close contact with Euro Plant Tray eG and the previous working groups from the beginning, so we are now taking this step for a joint solution. As part of Euro Plant Tray eG, Landgard will play an active role in shaping the development and also contribute existing know-how from our own intensive involvement in the topic of reusable trays," says Johannes Kronenberg, managing director of Landgard Blumen & Pflanzen GmbH.
Acceptance in the market plays an important role in establishing a new system that will change processes throughout the supply chain. Euro Plant Tray members agree that all logistics processes should be kept as simple as possible. The future development of rental models and pool management services therefore plays an important role in EPT's success. In the working groups, experts from sales, logistics and finance from wholesale retail and retail work together to find a solution that works in practice. Cooperatives such as Royal FloraHolland and Landgard, among others, represent the interests of producers in the discussions.
"EPT's approach of putting sustainability at the center and getting all market participants to work together on a standard solution for Europe is unique. The speed at which EPT is developing products and services and the growing number of participants show that the industry wants to find solutions and that working together with common goals can have an impact. Who would have thought that the industry would pick up our wake-up call from 2 years ago like this. DUH clearly sees this project as a shining example in the field of sustainability." Thomas Fischer, Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.
Follow EPT's development on LinkedIn and visit europlanttray.com for more information.
Photo 1: Hans-Gerd Cox (Managing Director Gebrüder Cox GmbH)
"Euro Plant Tray represents a joint solution for the entire industry, not yet another stand-alone solution. We feel responsible and want to make our contribution to sustainability and plastic savings within the cooperative and thus actively cooperate with our manufacturers and customers."
Photo 2: Michiel de Haan (CEO Royal Lemkes): "From the beginning of EPT, we have supported the initiative through the VGB as the Dutch Accelerator Group. At Royal Lemkes, "positive plants" are our dream where drastically reducing single plastics and moving towards a circular sector is part of it.
Benoit Strauven (CEO Floréac): "Participation in this EPT initiative is evident for Floréac, because of our intrinsic motivation to make the world a better place. We count on all sector partners to make this transition to a sustainable sector."