Sustainable business operations

Organic means sustainable. But at Bastiaansen Bio sustainability applies to more than cheese, because sustainability means ‘taking good care of the world around you’. Let’s start with our farmers.

Our organic farming methods are a responsible and sustainable way of justifying our future existence. We promote these values in our farmers by offering workshops covering subjects such as animal welfare, energy & climate and countryside & environment. Furthermore, our cattle have full access to outdoor grazing: that means our cattle spend at least 6 hours a day outside for a minimum of 120 days each year, which is a total of 720 hours per year. We are also committed to promoting biodiversity.

Then there’s production. Among other things we make an effort to reduce polluting emissions and limit physical strain on our employees. Our facilities have solar panels and we reuse byproducts such as whey, water and heat. To add to the sustainability of our products we take part in a number of initiatives designed to benefit nature. For example, we have developed Weidevogelkaas (meadow bird-friendly cheese) together with the Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds.

Employees

When it comes to our employees we also strive to be sustainable. This includes access to free fruit at work, gym subscriptions and getting involved in initiatives promoting cycling in the month of May (Meimaand Fietsmaand). We also work towards long-term contracts, organise personnel activities and offer a range of courses and training possibilities. We place a high value on personal sustainability.

Cultural history

Simply put, we can say that from beginning to end the whole process at Bastiaansen Bio is focused on sustainability. We also consider it a privilege to be careful custodians of our company’s valuable heritage. For more than a century our dairy in Rouveen has played an important role in the cultural history in the area around Staphorst.