Hazeu Orchids

Hazeu Orchids is a nursery that has been run by the Hazeu family for four generations and is located in Pijnacker. The first generation started with growing vegetables, but today Chiel and Sjors Hazeu have fully specialised in growing Phalaenopsis in a 12 cm cultivation pot. Production takes place under 68,000 m² of glass. They distinguish themselves by growing in a hexagonal cultivation pot, i.e. the nursery pot has 6 corners. This shape of this pot increases the efficiency of the whole chain. For instance, it results in a transport advantage of 20%, and a 20% energy reduction and 16.4% lower CO2 emissions compared to the ‘normal’ circular cultivation pot. This innovation has already won Hazeu Orchids several awards. The company focuses on the retail segment and sells most of its production under the name ‘Caleidos’. The literal translation of this is “polygonal”. More information can be found at www.hazeuorchids.nl.

Sustainability

Hazeu Orchids has not become more sustainable overnight. This has been a process of years. Partly due to questions from customers and consumers, the company slowly gradually became aware of the increasing importance to look closely at operations and, in particular, at sustainability.

Water
All rainwater falling on the roof of the greenhouse and commercial buildings , is collected in a water basin. This water is used to water the plants by means of a spraying system. This is fully computer controlled. This way, the plants can be watered as needed. The water is also supplied with the optimum amount of nutrients, so there is little waste. The water that is not absorbed by the plants , is collected in a water silo. After disinfection the water is then reused. They therefore do not use tap water.

No“dirty” ends up in the surface water. The water consumption in the nursery has no influence on the drinking water supplies in the region.

Biodiversity

To produce the plants, the company mainly uses a lot of organic plant protection products. Only if there is no other way, they will use some non-natural pesticides. Over the past 5 years, the use of organic resources has increased significantly and the use of non-natural resources has decreased dramatically. They have invested a lot of time in research into ways to deal with diseases and pests in a organic way. Unfortunately, at the moment, it is not yet possible to work completely organically.

Climate

In their current form the greenhouses are equipped with the most modern techniques in view of the future and the environment. For example, Hazeu Orchids has energy-efficient screen cloths, a heat pump and multiple combined heat and power (CHP) units. The CHP allows the company to generate its own electricity, releasing heat and CO2. All released energy and CO2 is used in the greenhouse to make the plants grow as well as possible.

6000 solar panels installed on the roof of the barn allow to obtain additional energy.

The environment is also taken into account in terms of transport. There is an electric company car. Customers also collect many goods directly from the nursery or products are taken directly to retailers’ depots. This minimises the number of transport movements.

Changing the shape of the cultivation pots and all the investments described above are aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Hazeu Orchids is in possession of the environmental certificates MPS-A, MPS-GAP and MPS SQ.

– MPS-A – indicates the level of sustainability of the company’s operations.

– MPS-GAP – for companies that supply to retailers and concerns traceability, environment, safety and hygiene. MPS-GAP is the next step beyond MPS-A on the road to sustainability.

– MPS SQ – relates to the social aspects of business operations

In addition, Hazeu Orchids is a member of the Horti Footprint Chain Program. Participants in the Horti Footprint Chain Program want to produce in a climate-neutral way. The aim is for each party in the horticultural sector to gain insight into its share of the final product’s CO2 footprint, in order to subsequently reduce its emissions.

The diagrams below show graphs of Hazeu Orchids’ consumption of crop protection agents, energy and fertilisers. The black stripes are the set standards. The limits indicated are the legal limits for environmental pollution. The limits indicated are the permissible legal limits for environmental impact.

People

Hazeu Orchids employs 100 staff across all its locations. Of these, 15 are permanent employees and 85 are hired through a certified temporary employment agency.

Many retail chains do not only pay attention to the environment, but increasingly focus on the social aspects of business operations. That is why Hazeu Orchids has also obtained the required certificates (MPS-SQs) in the field of employee relations.

The guidelines of the Collective Labour Agreement for greenhouse horticulture are well observed. Employees have an employment contract, establishing matters such as the number of days of leave, salary and working hours etc. Permanent employees and temporary employees have the same rights; employees are paid in accordance with the applicable Collective Labour Agreement standards. This also guarantees income security that should enable employees to provide themselves with decent housing.

Within the company, men and women have equal development opportunities and the possibility to be able to develop themselves further and thus grow into another position.

They also provide good protective work clothing and a safe working environment. In addition, each employee gets the freedom to express his/her own religion.

In the region, Hazeu sponsors on a regular basis and participates annually in the Tour for Life for cancer research.

Health

Did you know that flowers and plants have a healthy effect on people?

Plants provide air purification..
People breathe in air, take out oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. In the case of plants it is the other way around. During photosynthesis, plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and convert it back into oxygen. The amount of oxygen in the air is increased by the presence of plants, which makes breathing easier.
Air-purifying plants can absorb harmful substances from the air through their leaves. These harmful substances are then stored and broken down in the plant’s roots. These plants can also break down dirty odours, so they are actually natural air fresheners.
For the sake of clarity, every (indoor) plant produces oxygen, but not every plant also purifies the air. Air-purifying plants are e.g. the Spathiphyllum, Calathea, Hedera helix (ivy), Areca palm and the Ficus. For many plants we do not yet know to what extent they have an air purifying effect since they have not yet been tested.
Plants ensure a better concentration and a reduction of stress.
Plants create a relaxed and better atmosphere, also at work.. Plants make the workplace a more pleasant place to work.
Apparently there is even a relationship between the presence of plants and the productivity of employees.
Moreover, the presence of plants has a positive effect on the creativity and concentration of people.
Plants reduce the dryness of the air
The dust content and humidity in the house are strongly related with each other. The dryer the air, the more dust. This can cause symptoms such as a tickling cough, dry skin, headaches and irritated eyes. By watering plants, it finally evaporates again through the stomata in the leaves. Plants can thus increase the humidity of the air, which therefore benefits the air quality.
Plants provide a pleasant and warm feeling
Research has shown that plants are good for people in various (subtle) ways. They play an essential role in creating a pleasant, natural and quiet environment in which to move, work and/or relax.
Did you know that flowers too have a healthy effect on people?
Flowers can brighten up any room in a magical way. They give meaning to our emotions such as love, joy, comfort, compassion and sorrow. Flowers provide a relaxing effect on our constitution. They provide positive energy in the home and a warm feeling. In short, everyone is just very happy about that!

Care

Phalaenopsis:

Innovation

The Dutch greenhouse horticulture sector is worldwide renowned for its innovative power. In order to be one step ahead of the competition from other parts of the world, people are constantly looking for better efficiency in the use of raw materials and space. This, of course, without compromising the (top) quality of the Dutch product.

The glasshouse horticulture sector in the Netherlands can cope with this rapid pace of innovation thanks to a strong relationship between research and practice. In addition, a great deal of knowledge is exchanged between the entrepreneurs in order to make progress together. The flower auctions are a good example of this as one of the largest cooperatives in the world.
Below we describe a few examples of this innovative power.

Biological control and integrated pest management
In order to minimise the use of pesticides and to find a better balance between parasites and their natural enemies, natural enemies of the parasites are used in the greenhouses. Thanks to the intensive exchange of knowledge between the growers and their suppliers, growers are increasingly able to produce a top quality product with organic solutions.

Combined heat and power (CHP)
Combined heat and power (CHP) is a large engine, originating from the shipping industry. Only it has been converted to run on natural gas. The efficiency of this motor is higher than traditional gas boilers. These engines drive a generator that generates electricity. This electricity is used in the company’s own nursery or is supplied back to the public electricity grid. The ‘residual heat’ produced by the engine is used to heat the greenhouses. After cleaning, the exhaust gases can be used to provide the plants with CO2. All in all, these motors provide an efficiency that can be up to 20% higher than the traditional method of heating (gas boilers).

Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is used for this type of energy. A drilling tower is used to drill a well to a depth of 2-3 km. At this depth, water of more than 80 degrees can be ‘collected’. This heat is used to heat the greenhouses and then the cooled water is returned to the soil via a second source. It is expected that these sources will be able to continue to produce sufficient heat, even longer than the life of a greenhouse.

Drilling the well is an enormously expensive investment. In addition, there is a great risk that the drilling will ‘fail’. By working together with each other and with governments, in the Netherlands we are able to gain experience with this way of heating greenhouses sustainably.

Water purification
Plants need water and nutrients to grow. More and more nurseries are making use of the reuse of drainage water. This is water that is collected before it disappears into the subsoil. This ‘drainage water’ still contains many nutrients that can be used by the plants.
By reusing this water and mixing it with clean water, less fertilizer is used.
However, the drainage water also contains some ‘wrong substances’. The content of these wrong substances determines how much water can be reused. The application of new techniques creates opportunities to filter these ‘wrong substances’ out of the water.

Diffuse glass
In new constructions, more and more growers are opting to cover their greenhouses with diffuse glass. Diffuse glass ensures that light is distributed much more evenly across the crop without any shade or light spots. This leads to a more even greenhouse climate.
Temperature and humidity can thus be controlled more accurately, which means, for example, that the opening of the air windows can be limited, which leads to lower CO2 emissions.

LED lighting in greenhouse horticulture
A new innovation in horticulture is the use of LED lighting. This lighting is not comparable with LED lighting used in consumer use. In the horticultural sector, the lighting is produced by ‘power LEDs’ and therefore much higher. The major advantage of these ‘power LEDs’ is related to sustainable business practices: energy savings compared to high-pressure sodium lamps (orange-coloured lighting). This saves more than half of the energy.
Another major advantage is that when using LEDs, crops can be better controlled using the different colours in the light. This is in favour of a better growth and a higher quality of the product.