CSR & ESG
Published  7 MIN READ

Award-winning Sustainable Financing at Royal Avebe

By directly linking clearly defined environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets to the credit margin of its recent refinancing, innovative Dutch potato starch and protein manufacturer Royal Avebe not only embedded sustainability at the very heart of its finance operations, it also won a national treasury award.

It should come as no surprise that Royal Avebe, the Netherlands-headquartered cooperative of around 2,300 arable farmers in the Netherlands and Germany, has a keen regard for sustainability. The humble but mighty potato is the focus of its business, and every year its members’ harvests are processed into a wide range of high-grade ingredients based on potato starch and protein. These extracts can not only be used to add value to a wide range of consumer food products but they are essential ingredients in pet food and various industrial applications worldwide.

With 1,300 employees and production sites in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden and sales offices in the United States, Europe and Asia, Royal Avebe continuously develops innovative opportunities and applications based on potato starch. Throughout these operations, the firm maintains a major focus on sustainable continuity, as Royal Avebe’s Treasurer and Insurance Manager Hans Miedema explains.

“With our strategic direction, we aim to create more value for society and stakeholders: members, customers and employees, both now and in the future,” he says. “This is only possible if, in addition to our financial results, we also take account of our impact in other areas.”