Engaged with the world and the people around us
Sustainability
At Astra Sweets, we attach great importance to sustainability in all its aspects. We try to make a difference with both small and large efforts.
Sustainable Product range
We put our product range to the test with our Pitstop project. We eliminate and innovate, taking into account: the market, consumer needs and trends. That is how we guarantee a durable and high-quality range.
Our focus is on ensuring high quality standards and developing new sustainable recipes with first-class taste. For example, did you know that our tasty UFOs and a large part of our Gum range are vegan?
Moreover, we took action to replace the palm oil in our products with a more sustainable alternative. That’s how we can do our part in preserving the rainforest.
Sustainable chain management
By distinguishing between waste and co-products, we contribute to waste prevention. Co-products meet the criteria of food safety and are sold to ‘second suppliers’ and marketed at a reduced price. Candy waste, which meets the criteria for animal nutrition, is sold as animal feed. We are also a ‘zero water discharger’, we supply our sugared waste and rinse water to Aquafin, installations for bio-energy and local farmers. Moreover, we continuously think along with retailers to make packaging as environmentally friendly as possible.
Heat recovery and sustainable cooling are also important steps in making the production facility in Turnhout more sustainable. We can now reuse heat, which was disposed of in the past, in our production process. In addition, we are increasingly replacing our existing coolants with more sustainable alternatives. These investments benefit the environment and our efficient energy management.
We also pay attention to renewable energy sources. For example, our production location in Harlingen is already running entirely on wind power from the “Hollandse wind” park and on solar power from their own solar panels, completely in Frisia style!
Social responsibility
As a family business, we like to take care of our Astra family, also affectionately known as “Astranen”. We apply the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) code within our organization and with our welfare policy we ensure that our “Astranen” can work in a healthy and ergonomic way.
In addition, we also commit to the local community through our collaboration with A-Kwadraat, a tailor-made company (www.a-kwadraat.be), our participation in “enterprising Turnhout” (network of entrepreneurs who promote Turnhout as a working and entrepreneurial city) and by guiding students from colleges in our neighborhood.
Finally, in 2020 we will also start a bicycle leasing project for our staff. We want to stimulate the bicycle as a means of transport.