Insight out
From insights to deliverables Annual report 2023
Editors:
Mirella van der Kleij - Marketing & Communication GMP+ International Richard Doughty - Doughty Consultancy
Design: Studio Ruig
Photography:
Adriaan Verhoeven Beeldvoerders
Der Fotograf Berlin Shutterstock
Disclaimer:
This publication was established for the purpose of providing information to interested parties with respect the GMP+ standards. This publication will be updated regularly. GMP+ International B.V. is not liable for any inaccuracies in this publication.
© GMP+ International B.V.
All rights reserved. The information in this publication may be consulted on the screen, downloaded and printed as long as this is done for your own, non-commercial use. For other desired uses, prior written permission should be obtained from the GMP+ International B.V.
Working together
Welcome to our 2023 annual report
2023 was the first year of our new strategy. Building on firm foundations, our strategy puts focus on doing the rights things in the right way, including reaching out in a more structured way to our community.
Watch the video
‘We’re on the right track’
Rijswijk, the Netherlands, April 2024
Insights of a growing community
In 2023, we worked with renowned research company Ipsos to understand our standing in the feed safety community, which of our services are valued most, and how we can improve satisfaction with our certification. The results were a high rating, which we are proud of. They gave us a positive boost, showing that both GMP+ certified companies and Certification Bodies (CBs) value what we’re doing. Naturally we also asked about what we could do to improve, and the responses confirmed that the improvement plans in our new strategy are in line with what the GMP+ Community wants.
Our foundations as an organisation, and community, are strong. That is thanks to the hard work of thousands of people around the world who have made feed safety part of their everyday work, and of course our team. We’re on the right track.
Staying relevant in a changing world
As we remain vigilant on safety, we also know that the industry is facing new challenges, especially on sustainability. The bad news is that we have a large footprint, the good news is that this gives us various opportunities to do something about it.
Whether companies take proactive steps, or wait until they must comply with new legislation, everyone knows we as an industry will have to be more sustainable sooner or later. Our community has asked us to play our part, and help them get ahead of the curve.
In response, we gave our sustainability work a boost in 2023, including a renewed standard on deforestation in soy, and establishing a pilot for a standard on measuring carbon footprint.
These efforts, like much of our work, are done in partnership with the industry. For our standards to work in practice, they must be practical. To be practical, we need on-theground insights that come from our continuous engagement with companies, CBs, and experts.
In 2023, our team turbo-charged our engagement with the community. The fruits of those discussions will be seen in 2024, but it was not a one-off. We are determined to work together with our community, and continuously reach out for their views and insights. It is what has made us the world’s largest community for safe and sustainable animal feed, built our firm foundations, and will be the driving force behind our future success – together.
Roland van der Post Managing Director
19,696
GMP+ FSA certified companies as of December 31, 2023
90 Countries with GMP+ FSA certified companies
1,033
GMP+ FRA certified companies as of December 31, 2023
19 Countries with GMP+ FRA certified companies
32 GMP+ accepted Certification Bodies
385 GMP+ accepted auditors
25 Feed & Food strategic chain partnerships
271
1 Notifications received on our Early Warning System (EWS) EWS Warning published
What our community says about us
‘International recognition’
Renowned and independent research company Ipsos asked our community what they think of GMP+ International.
The response was clear - our community values the international recognition, quality, and scope of our certification. We are glad to see that the improvements we have planned are aligned with what the community is asking for.
To find out about what improvements are coming soon, see page 30.
‘GMP+ scores better than the benchmark on all attributes, especially on international recognition, added value, quality and scope.’
‘The
system is very well thought out and offers international security’
Certificate holder from Germany
Ipsos
Organisation Overview
Governance
GMP+ International is an independent not for profit organisation, and registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (registration no. 27364542) as a private company with limited liability under Dutch law (B.V.). This legal form enables us to operate independently and in cooperation with partners around the world.
The mandate for the management of the organisation is laid down in our Articles of Association.
• Our shareholder is the GMP+ International Foundation; ten Dutch trade associations representing the whole feed chain. While this Dutch character reflects our origin, we welcome other stakeholder groups internationally who wish to join as shareholders.
• The chairman and secretary of GMP+ International Foundation compose the General Shareholders Meeting.
• Our Supervisory Board consists of three independent persons. It serves as a sounding board, and advises and supervises the Management Board.
• Our Managing Director is the board of the organisation and authorised for final decision making in accordance with Dutch law, though for specified strategic decisions they need the approval of the General Shareholders Meeting or the Supervisory Board.
• Our staff includes our Management Board (GMP+ International’s Managing Director and Commercial Director), who are supported by 30 employees in 4 teams.
General Meeting of Shareholders Foundation GMP+ International Shareholders
GMP+
Supervisory board
International Expert Comittee Animal Feed
Partners Animal Feed
Business strategy
In 2023 we introduced a new business plan for the years 2023 –2025. It describes our overarching strategic objective, and a series of goals, strategies, and measures that will help us achieve that objective.
You can find out more about our activities in line with the strategy in the following department highlights.
Objective:
‘We are the market leader in feed safety & sustainability schemes and services, by being an inspiring partner for our community.’
Goals:
1. Market leader for GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance
2. Market leader for GMP+ Feed Responsibility Assurance
3. Be an inspiring partner for our community
4. High scheme & services satisfaction
5. Positive financial performance
Strategies:
1. Our position:
We are the organisation our partners & Certification Bodies (CBs) want to collaborate with by creating added value for both parties based on understanding the voice of the customer.
2. Scheme & Services:
We improve our market position by continuous improvement on the added value of our Scheme & Services.
3. Feed Responsibility Assurance: We deploy our market position by taking the lead in achieving sustainability related (market) opportunities.
4. Market share:
We increase our market share by targeting initiatives in our focus countries.
5. Our colleagues:
We support our colleagues in achieving capacity for change by developing a growth mindset and effective collaboration.
6. Our organisation:
We are an agile organisation by embedding all aspects of continuous improvement in our DNA.
Department hightlights
Updates from the teams at GMP+ International who share their deliverables from 2023
Scheme & Customer Services
The Scheme & Customer Services team looks after GMP+ International’s certification scheme and supporting services. This includes our standards which are regularly updated based on new insights on safe and sustainable feed practices, as well as customer services like our GMP+ Helpdesk and databases.
What was the most significant development in 2023?
We prepared two new GMP+ FRA standards – we made a sustainable soy standard to facilitate companies supplying to the German market, and a pilot standard for measuring carbon footprint. The market is urgently looking for ways to assure the carbon footprint of feed. As a first step we established a pilot standard, based on the Dutch Nevedi CFP calculation tool. With the experience we will gain from this pilot we aim to develop an international applicable standard. Both standards were launched on 01 January 2024.
With our growing focus on GMP+ FRA standards, we worked more with our expert FRA subcommittee, and established new relationships and connections in the market. This included collaborating with feed companies and Certification Bodies (CBs) to see if what we were developing would work in practice.
We also worked hard to support the transition to our GMP+ Feed Certification scheme 2020. The redesigned scheme is more flexible, focused on outcomes not on processes, and like all our work has been developed in partnership with the sector.
We organised webinars, developed an e-learning, and support documents. We also arranged a roadshow of interactive sessions with companies, partner organisations, auditors, and GMP+ Registered Consultants to explain how it works, the impact, and hear the experience of our stakeholders. Listening to the community is always valuable for us, and we were pleased to hear that the support we had on offer was what the community were looking for.
Remco Els
Lots of work has been happening behind the scenes, what has that meant for your team?
Last year we did a lot of work on improving our customer services – especially the website and Risk Management Tools. As we develop the services, we listen to the needs of the users, so this year we acted on the feedback we received from our customers via surveys and interviews; making a design and program which we could then user-test with our stakeholders. When launched, it will mean information on the scheme will be easier to access, the system will be more user-friendly, and the community will benefit from a more tailored experience.
We’ve initiated a program to make CBs even more central to our way of working. This ongoing program is based on 3 pillars; performance, capacity, and our relationship with CBs. In 2023 the program was launched with a roadshow speaking with GMP+ coordinators and leaders of CBs. Multiple said to me “You are the first scheme owner actually talking with us, not just telling us what to do.”
What other developments do you expect for the future?
We are always following new initiatives and developments in the industry. Whether it’s sustainability, alternative proteins like insect-based feed, or circularity, we are listening closely to the whole discussion and anticipate on those via the Scheme and Services. We want to remain a step ahead.
And technology too. We are following new developments that will make tooling easier, like the potential role of AI/Blockchain, etc. Audits are a great example, as we are looking at how, for example, parallel audits can become more risk-based, and we will work with our IT user group (with representatives from CBs) to discuss the tools we need, and established a working group of CBs on how to make remote auditing more practical and explore more options for remote auditing.
Remco Veelenturf Team manager - Scheme & Customer Services
van
Boon Team manager - Scheme & Customer Services
Remco
Remco
Els
Els
Els
der
Marketing & Communication
Marketing & Communication ensures communications are aligned with GMP+ International’s objectives and meet the needs of our stakeholders. To achieve this, they gather insights on stakeholder needs, develop and implement marketing and communication strategies, and support the wider team to communicate with our community.
Marjon Vaartjes
Marketing & Communication Manager
‘Making information easier to find’
Marjon Marjon Marjon
What insights did you gain from the community this year?
As part of our three-year business plan, we set ourselves the goals of continuously increasing the value we add for our GMP+ Community. In order to track these goals, our team led on partnering with Ipsos to conduct two surveys. We invited GMP+ certified companies and partners (CBs, GMP+ Auditors and Registered Consultants) to evaluate our products and services. We were pleased that both our companies and partners are very satisfied, giving our services an average rating of 8 out of 10.
Lots of work has been happening behind the scenes, what has that meant for your team?
Based on earlier insights we knew we had to make it easier for the community to find the information they need. Working with specialists, including UX designers, we did a deep dive on the specific needs of our users, and over the year developed and tested solutions that will make it easier to use our website, portal, and databases. Our Ipsos survey confirmed that these developments are in line with what the community is asking for.
What else has the team done this year?
We have worked hard to ensure we have a professional presence in all our activities. From webinars, to presentations and newsletters, and publications like this one. We want to create a positive and professional image for our organisation and community.
We’ve also worked to make our communications more aligned and flexible. As well as redesigning our scheme logos so they are easier to recognise as part of GMP+ International’s brand identity, we’ve also integrated our newsletter and CRM systems. This means in future we will be able to share more relevant and tailored information with different groups, and members of the community can indicate which topics they would like to receive news about (e.g. aflatoxin, transport, notifications, or withdrawals, etc.)
Business Development
The Business Development team analyses market needs, promotes feed safety awareness, and finds opportunities to expand the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme. They represent the organisation externally, and translate market information and opportunities into improvements for the scheme and services.
Did GMP+ International grow in 2023?
In 2023, we started with its new 3-years business plan, and Business Development took the lead on our Market Share strategy. With this strategy we aim to increase the number of GMP+ FSA & FRA certified companies in emerging markets, where we saw a growth of 448 companies in 2023 and reached a level of 7,638 companies.
This growth was especially notable in Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Brazil, and Indonesia, where the domestic need for feed safety certification is strong. In Brazil particularly we are expecting further growth in 2024, where new legislation is encouraging the use of independent standards instead of governmental check-ups, and increased demand from road transport and railway companies.
‘First notable growth signs of our new 3-year business plan’
Bram Schuit Commercial Director
What did the team do to support the community this year?
This year one of the highlights is the importance of maintaining relationships with various stakeholders, such as Certification Bodies (CBs), (certified) companies, branch organisations, governmental bodies, and other community members. We connected with three new partners, including new Registered Consultants, and branch organisations in emerging markets.
Our new strategy especially focuses on strengthening our relationships with CBs. They are critical to ensuring safe and sustainable feed worldwide, supporting the implementation of our standards with nearly 20,000 companies around the globe. Our desire is to strengthen added value for both parties. Because of this, we initially interviewed seventeen CBs in 2023 to generate insights in making our relationship stronger, increase audit capacity, and elevate performance.
According to the already visited CBs, these on-site visits are highly appreciated. Business Development will continue these actions together with the entire organisation, visiting more CBs, listening, and understanding what more we can do support them in their role.
Bram
Business Operations
The Business Operations team provides IT, HR operations, Office & Facilities management, Finance and Support for the whole organisation.
Martin van den Bedum Team Manager, Business Operation
Lots of work has been happening behind the scenes, what has that meant for your team?
Our team ensures the wider organisation can do their work. In 2023 we oversaw significant changes to streamline and simplify our Business Information Management (BIM) systems. For example, after relying on desktop cloud storage for many years, we achieved our goal of transitioning to local cloud storage and other desktop solutions.
This includes moving our files to SharePoint and Teams, which changed how our wider team works. Therefore, we provided training for colleagues to make the most of the new systems. Not only will this improve consistent communications with colleagues and stakeholders, but by automating and updating our systems our colleagues can spend more time connecting with, gathering insights from, and adding value to our community.
We also made further improvements to our systems. We worked with an IT supplier to improve our financial reporting processes, reducing the amount of manual labour involved and making room for future improvements. Together with Marketing & Communications, we also integrated our email newsletters with our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, which will make it easier for us to keep track of communications, and we will have the option for exploiting other features going forward.
Martin
Martin Martin
What work did you do that the wider community will benefit from most?
We made some big improvements to our process for approving risk assessments for the community. Our approval process involved many iterations and were taking an average of 150 days to finalise, which was creating a backlog. Scheme and Customer Services managed to improve the efficiency of this process, especially the time it took before processing feedback. BIM facilitated our colleagues with a system that supports their process which is beneficial to their work and also had a positive effect on the lead time. Together we reduced the lead time to 70 days on average – cutting the lead time in half. This is a huge improvement and will significantly benefit the community.
What more did you do to set up for the future?
We want to ensure we are making the most of technology in how we collaborate with our community. In 2023 we established an IT User Group, made of CBs and partners from our subcommittees. This group, who begin their work in 2024, will be looking at how we can better use IT to support the community, such as through developments to our portal and databases, how we can support the future of auditing, and how new developments like AI and blockchain can add value to the community.
‘More time for connecting, gathering insights and adding value to our community’
Human Resources
The Human Resources team aligns GMP+ International’s workforce with its mission and core values. Our HR strategy, including working conditions and employment contracts, is integral to achieving our strategic goals.
Roland
How did GMP+ International approach human resources in 2023? A company performs best if the people are at their best. We are strong believers in continuous improvement, as a community, as a company, and as individuals. We have a dedicated strategy for our colleagues where we pursue continuous improvement, which is one way for us to keep up to date with new ideas and challenges. When you give people the tools to deal with challenges and changes, you give your organisation a boost. We stimulate our colleagues to take the initiative to develop themselves and we offer lots of possibilities for training and coaching etc.
Our business strategy in particular includes a focus on supporting the team with developing growth mindsets and improving collaboration through multi-disciplinary teamwork. Our work in 2023 focused on what that means for colleagues individually, and we are building on that moving forward for how that works across teams.
We said goodbye to some colleagues, including our founding director Johan den Hartog. We also made sure to organise time together as a team to build and strengthen connections. This was something we consciously worked on when everyone was working remotely during COVID, and now as more of our colleagues return to the office, we want to ensure we don’t lose these important moments.
‘A company performs best if the people are at their best’
Roland van der Post Managing Director
Works Council
Our works Council continues to make an important contribution to the organisation, and this year collaborated on making GMP+ International’s labour conditions more transparent. The GMP+ International Supervisory board also especially invited the Works Council to share their insights and discuss the organisation. Something which will continue on an annual basis.
Coming soon
There is always room to grow. We listen to our community, and we have some exciting developments coming soon.
Database updates
Our GMP+ certified companies previously told us that they found our Feed Support Products and GMP+ Monitoring database difficult to use.
We are already well underway with a project which, in partnership with our stakeholders, will make these systems more user-friendly, accessible, and give our community more control over their data.
Website & portal updates
Our surveys also confirmed that our community would like improvements to our website and portal, which are coming very soon. In this optimisation process we actively involved our customers and stakeholders by testing and validating their user experience.
Outcomes-focused standards
Our community values certification schemes that don’t take a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Now we have transitioned to our updated GMP+ FC scheme 2020 we have moved away from a rules-based approach and instead focused on achieving safe outcomes, allowing companies to take a more flexible and proactive approach to feed safety management.
Under the renewed scheme we are working with principles and goals; allowing companies to find the right approach to feed safety for their unique situation. This means that companies can focus on how they manage feed safety the best, rather than just following a broad set of rules.
‘We listen, and act’
Product Overview
GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance certified companies
As of December 2023, 19,696 companies in 90 countries worldwide were GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) certified. That represents 57% growth in the past decade.
In close cooperation with the GMP+ committees, who represent the GMP+ Community, changes to the scheme have been prepared and implemented in the GMP+ standards.
GMP+ FSA certified companies
19,696
GMP+ FSA Certified companies as of December 31, 2023
500+ certificates
101 to 500 certificates
< 100 certificates
No certificates
90 Countries with GMP+ FSA certified companies
GMP+ Feed Responsibility Assurance certified companies
As of December 2023, 1,033 companies in 19 countries worldwide were GMP+ Feed Responsibility Assurance (FRA) certified. That represents 530% growth in the past eight years.
In close cooperation with the GMP+ committees, who represent the GMP+ Community, changes to the scheme have been prepared and implemented in the GMP+ standards.
1,033
GMP+ FRA Certified companies as of December 31, 2023
19
Countries with GMP+ FRA certified companies
50+ certificates < 50 certificates No certificates
GMP+ Academy
The GMP+ Academy is an online platform that gathers and shares knowledge about safe and sustainable feed for the entire feed community.
The GMP+ Academy received more than 10,000 visitors in 2023, and more than 2,000 users started one of our online modules which is 3 times more than the previous year. The number of training institutes grew to 12. And Spanish producer Nutrion Internacional joined the Collective Knowledge Programme (CKP).
The offering on the platform is growing considerably through the collaboration with our partners in the CKP, GMP+ Registered Training Institutes, and GMP+ Registered Trainers, including:
• Online course on ‘Feed safety culture’ - developed by the CKP.
• Online modules to increase general knowledge about feed safety, including ‘Establishing a monitoring plan’, ‘The principles of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme’, and ‘How can you benefit from Feed Support Products?’
• The CKP also began developing a new e-learning module about supplier assessment, expected to be launched in Q3 2024.
‘Feed safety is a joint interest and shouldn’t be part of the competition. That makes it a joint responsibility for all
industry
business partners to train employees in feed safety. Let’s contribute to
the
development of knowledge and offer training in feed safety!’
Carl
IJzerman
Group Manager QA/QC De Heus Voeders
GMP+ Academy Advisory Board member
Collective Knowledge Programme member
10,570
Visitors
1,343 New users
20,760
Sessions
70
GMP+ Academy Partners
The CKP is a special partnership. Feed experts from big names in the industry pool their knowledge and experience in order to share information about feed safety culture with the world.
Strategic partners
In 2023, GMP+ International continued to support, involve, and engage stakeholders through our partnership.
While our partnerships extend beyond the feed and food value chain, many of our international strategic partners are organisations and trade associations in the industry who support our vision, values, and ambitions.
Feed and Food Partners
Private Associations & Food Companies
Private Collectives
Feed Scheme Holders
GMP+ International strategic partner
Food Scheme Holders
Registered Consultants
Good Agriculture Practice Scheme Holders (GAP)
Food Safety and Responsibility Assurance Scheme Holders
The graph presents an overview of the structure of GMP+ International’s (strategic) partners.
Feed and Food Partners
Private Associations & Food Companies
Our feed and food partners help develop the GMP+ certification schemes and supporting services, so we maintain our market focus.
Private Collectives
We collaborate with our private collective partners to help optimise each other’s expertise and services so we remain efficient and effective for our stakeholders.
Feed Scheme Owners
We align with other feed schemes and provide mutual recognition.
G.A.P. Scheme Owners
We align with the requirements of Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P.) schemes for livestock and aqua farming.
Food Safety and Responsibility Assurance Scheme Owners
We align with food industry schemes, as well as providing combined audits for food companies who also produce by-products for animal feed.
Mutual Recognition
GMP+ International works with other feed safety schemes on a safe feed chain worldwide. This cooperation makes it possible for GMP+ certified companies to purchase products from equivalent certified companies.
In 2023 we mutually recognised 9 Feed Safety Assurance schemes across Europe, and 3 Feed Responsibility Assurance schemes around the world.
Certification Bodies
Certification Bodies (CBs), and their auditors, assess and certify companies to ensure they comply with the principles and requirements of GMP+’s standards.
Total number of Certification Bodies for the GMP+ feed certification scheme
Total number of accepted auditors
International Expert Committee (IEC)
GMP+ International seeks advice from the International Expert Committee and various subcommittees. They are made up of representatives from across the feed chain.
Task Forces
Our Task Forces bring business representatives, consultants, and certification bodies from a particular region together to give us an insight into region-specific challenges.
In 2023, 84 volunteers participated in 5 Task Forces in Italy, Poland, Brazil, Spain, and the Danube Region (Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Croatia).
GMP+ Registered Consultants
Registered Consultants are independent companies recognised by GMP+ International. They advise companies about the implementation of the requirements of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme.
In 2023, 23 Registered Consultants were active around the world.
Gianni Baccarini
Explanatory note to our financial figures
GMP+ International has continued to maintain the strong and solid financial position of the last several years.
This is despite, like everyone else, facing major cost increases from suppliers in 2023. We also undertook significant investment in our customer portal, website, and feed support database to further improve our services, which led to a decrease in liquidity.
Last year, thanks to our steady growth and appropriate attention to costs, we achieved a positive net result of €114k. This we add to our financial reserve.
Key figures
Balance sheet as per December 31, 2022
Profit and loss account over 2022
We enable every company in the feed chain to take responsibility for safe and sustainable feed.
GMP+ International
Braillelaan 9
2289 CL Rijswijk
The Netherlands
t. +31 (0)70 - 307 41 20 (Office)
+31 (0)70 - 307 41 44 (Help Desk)
e. info@gmpplus.org
