Our sustainability strategy

“Yes we care”- Our sustainability strategy

Lore Muylle, sustainability manager: “At What’s Cooking? we want to infuse sustainability into everything we do. The “CARE” in our slogan “YES WE CARE” stands for “Change and Act Responsibly, Everyone.” It is a call to all our stakeholders: we must include sustainability in all our activities and in every collaboration we enter into. It therefore concerns everyone in the entire value chain. And together we make a difference! “

What’s Cooking? Annual

Good Food For All

Protect our planet

• De klimaatverandering aanpakken

• De afvaloorlog winnen Verantwoord inkopen

The three pillars of our sustainability strategy

The sustainability strategy of What’s Cooking? Is built around three pillars:

1. good food for all

By changing the name of our ‘processed meats’ segment to ‘savoury’ (NL: ‘savory’), we are emphasizing how eager we are to add more vegetarian and plant-based products to our range. More specifically, we aim to make 15% of our volume plant-based or vegetarian by 2030. We believe that with a wide range of affordable products and the right information, we can help consumers eat healthily and in a balanced way.

As a food company, we care very much about food safety and quality. It is our reason for existence. In addition to being safe and quality, we want our products to be as nutritious as possible. At What’s Cooking? we strive to improve every day in that area as well.

2. Protect our planet

To combat climate change, we want to significantly reduce our carbon footprint by 2030. Therefore, from 2024 we will only use 100% green electricity. Because global warming also affects water scarcity, we want to use 30% less water per ton of finished product as of 2030 (compared to 2022). In addition, we want to reduce our food product waste by 20% from 2024 (also compared to 2022). The waste we cannot avoid will be recycled as much as possible.

The below figures show the importance of reducing food waste:

• Globally, about 14% of produced food is lost between harvest and sale. Waste accounts for 38% of the total energy consumption in the global food system.

Another important weapon in our fight against waste is sustainable packaging. Several research projects on “greener” options are currently underway. Our ambition: 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 and 30% recycled packaging by 2030. We also want to use as little plastic and packaging material as possible in general, without sacrificing hygiene and shelf life, and without increasing food waste. To be continued!

• Consumentenwelzijn verzekeren

• Beter eten promoten Meer plantaardige producten aanbieden

Help people flourish

• Waken over werknemersveiligheid

• Werknemersengagement stimuleren Mensenrechten respecteren

Whenever possible, What’s Cooking? chooses local suppliers. We buy most of our ingredients in Europe and use 100% RSPO-certified palm oil. In addition, we have an eye for animal welfare. We work closely with our suppliers to implement better farming practices, we only use free-range eggs in our dishes and prefer sustainably caught or farmed fish with an ASC or MSC label.

3. Help people flourish

The safety of our staff is our priority: at executive committee meetings, safety scores are always the first item on the agenda. Our Environment, Health & Safety (SHE) system assesses how our various sites score and helps them improve in this regard. In addition, the engagement index measures the commitment of our staff and examines where there is room for improvement. As of 2028, we aim for an average engagement rate of no less than 80%.

At What’s Cooking? we are committed to the overall well-being and mental health of our employees. Hence our various initiatives across our various sites, such as the Employee Assistance Program, Mental Health Awareness Week and our partnership with Mindlab. That organization offers our employees individualized support for mental health issues and the physical consequences that can result.

We have a code of conduct for our suppliers. This ensures that the human rights of everyone in the value chain are respected. Our Supplier Sustainability Rating Program focuses on both social and environmental criteria.

We also do our utmost to make a difference to local communities in our various locations. Think of collecting toys for underprivileged children and supporting local charities. And of course, the situation in Ukraine did not leave us unmoved. We organized fundraisers and donated some of our products to those affected.