Gijs Muilenberg has been working at Farm frites since 2003. He joined the company as finance manager in a challenging time. Over the years he was responsible for finance in different business parts within Farm Frites. Since 2010, Gijs is Chief Financial Officer of the holding company.
“Sustainability in Farm Frites has always been on our radar as we live from the land. This means we need to take good care of it and the environment. We always understood we need to take responsibility for the impact that our business operations have on our surroundings. We are continuously researching, investing and partnering to become more sustainable. This fits also with the ambitious company goals. Partly driven by the sustainability goals of the largest QSR companies in the sector we have made improvements over the years in various areas of the value chain. Not only in the factory but also related to how potatoes are grown and employees, communities are cared for.”
“I am proud of our flagship farm in Poland. That we are the driver behind more sustainable agriculture and inspiring a whole community of Polish farmers to become leaders in sustainable agriculture. In the Netherlands we collaborate with knowledge institutes, such as Wageningen University, to promote soil condition and to offset energy usage and CO2 emissions. Besides, Farm Frites is investing in a solar panel field in the Netherlands of approximately 20 hectares to locally obtain and use this green energy. On top, we are building on local potato production & processing through a new plant in Kazakhstan to be closer to customers in the Eastern part of the world.”
Each year the impact of climate change becomes more apparent. That why in 2019 we decided to sign the Science-based Targets commitment letter. This means we will align our carbon reduction plans with what science says is necessary to combat climate change. By 2025, Farm Frites wants to be recognised as the accelerator of sustainability in the potato chain, from farm to fork, by collaborations with farmers, customers and other stakeholders. That is why we need to stay focused on the future, be ahead with developments and drive change where we can. This is a call on all of us.