Balancing Profit, People, and Planet at Vandersterre

Every day at Vandersterre, we strive to find the optimal balance between the three Ps: Profit, People, and Planet. Our mission is to produce, consume, and promote enterprise sustainably, with a focus on the present and future generations.

Climate-Neutral Farm

We have set ambitious targets to achieve a climate-neutral farm within the next 10 years:

• Conversion of Cow Dung into Gas: Using a manure fermenter to transform cow dung into gas.
• 100% Energy Generation: Utilizing solar panels to generate all our energy needs.
• Reducing Unnecessary Mileage: Creating a more compact work location to minimize travel.

Sport, Culture, and Society

On a social level, we are equally passionate and enterprising. We support a wide range of local and regional initiatives in the areas of sport, culture, and society. Our commitment is particularly strong towards activities that foster togetherness in this digital age, such as through sponsorships.

Happy Cows, Healthy Cheese

At Vandersterre, we prioritize the well-being of our cows and strive to improve their care every day. Most of the cows that produce the milk for our cheese graze outside in the pasture for an average of 180 days a year, spending 10 hours a day in the open air. This results in two, sometimes even three, grazing seasons each year.

The cows enjoy fresh grass, soft surfaces to walk and lie on, and ample time outside in the fresh air, allowing them to express their natural grazing and herd behavior. In winter, we ensure they are well cared for with comfortable accommodations, including soft beds and massage brushes in the barn.

Cheese for People, Animals, and the Environment

At Vandersterre, we are constantly working to make our product range more sustainable. This effort begins with the cow and extends to the feed programs, which include the composition of the grass. To promote cow wellness, we encourage the use of materials like cow brushes and mattresses. Vandersterre is also a signatory of the Weidegang agreement, which promotes grazing and keeping cows in the pasture.

Sustainability is a priority in our cheese-making process. We eliminate unnecessary additives from our cheese recipes wherever possible (clean label). For instance, our Landana cheese is produced in a factory that uses solar panels and recycles heat, water, and by-products. Kaamps Estate, where our cheese dairy is located, provides ‘blue’ ecological services by keeping land under water after heavy rainfall to ensure optimal landscape management. Our goal is to achieve climate neutrality at this location within 10 years.

At Vandersterre, waste separation and the use of green energy are standard practices. We also maximize natural light in our buildings by using glass, reducing our reliance on artificial lighting and energy. Additionally, we strive to minimize transportation movements, benefiting both the environment and our budget. We develop packaging that complies with “essential requirements,” restricting packaging to the necessary minimum.