Circular purchasing

What is circular purchasing?

The raw materials entering our company must be produced as circularly as possible. And, they must of course fit into our production processes and meet the requirements of our customers. We can only achieve this if we work together with our suppliers and also set targets together with them.

​​​​​​​Circular purchasing therefore involves working with suppliers to draw up the circular criteria for raw materials and ensuring that the raw materials supplied meet these criteria. The agreements we make with suppliers are laid down in agreements.

How do we organise circular purchasing?

We have divided the raw materials and other materials we purchase into four groups:

• Agricultural raw materials such as barley, hops and malt
• Packaging materials such as metal, glass and paper
• Materials and raw materials for machinery and buildings such as metal, stone and plastic
• Marketing and promotional materials such as paper and plastics

We determined for each group which circular criteria the raw materials and materials in the group must meet. For example, barley and paper: the barley we buy must meet the SAI criteria.

These criteria are used internationally to make barley cultivation more sustainable (for more information visit their website).
The paper we use must meet FSC criteria. These criteria ensure that the wood used for paper production comes from sustainably cultivated forests (see their website for more information).

For each group of raw materials and materials, we have a specialised buyer who, together with the suppliers, ensures that the purchased materials meet the circular criteria as much as possible.

Circular purchasing initiatives

Packaging

• All our packaging is 100% recyclable.
• We use recycled material as much as possible for our packaging (this applies to cardboard, glass, cans and plastic).
• We make one-way bottles and cans lighter, which means we use less raw material and reduce CO2 emissions during transport.
• We choose to replace plastic with certified cardboard for some packaging.

Agricultural raw materials

• For our agricultural raw materials (hops, barley, sugar) we choose sustainably certified products as much as possible.

Marketing materials

• All supermarket displays and beer coasters are made from FSC-certified cardboard.
• Plastic cups for festivals mainly consist of recycled plastic.