HORTICERT

Milestone Moment: HORTICERT Awards First Certificates at 7th Stakeholder Workshop 🌱 Yesterday, we proudly hosted our 7th HORTICERT stakeholder workshop – our first-ever hybrid event with around 80 participants from the horticulture sector, NGOs, and public institutions joining both in person and online. It was a pleasure to welcome many attendees in Berlin at the Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft. A heartfelt thank you to all stakeholders for their active engagement and valuable contributions. Your collaboration is key to the continuous evolution of HORTICERT. Special thanks to Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) for their outstanding support in organizing the event. A major highlight of the day: awarding the very first official HORTICERT certificates to Gebrüder Mayer (toom Baumarkt, REWE Group), Gramoflor GmbH & Co. KG, @Eifelholz AG, and @Copertiz. Huge congratulations on this important milestone! The workshop also provided valuable updates on HORTICERT's progress, with inspiring insights from the pioneer companies about their certification journeys, as well as informative presentations on ecological and social sustainability requirements from our NGO partners Welthungerhilfe (WHH), Global Nature Fund, and Bodensee-Stiftung Stiftung. With the first certificates issued, HORTICERT has now successfully entered regular operation – but our journey is far from over! Engaging panel discussions highlighted key focus areas for the future, including: - Advancing research on GHG emissions from compost - Aligning with upcoming EU regulations like EUDR, CSRD, and the Green Claims Directive - Increasing numbers of system users and enhancing international reach - Incorporating more peat substitutes into HORTICERT Exciting developments lie ahead – stay tuned for what’s next! #HORTICERT #Horticulture #Sustainability #StakeholderWorkshop #Innovation #Certification #ThankYou

🌿 Conclusion of the First HORTICERT Public Consultation   Thank you to all stakeholders, industry professionals, and certification bodies who contributed to the first consultation phase of the HORTICERT System Documents. Your insights and expertise are essential in helping us shape a certification system that meets the highest standards of transparency, sustainability, and accuracy. 👏   With your valuable input, we now proceed to refining the HORTICERT System Documents. Once revisions are complete, we will launch a second round of public consultation, which will include German versions of all documents. This phase will provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review how their initial feedback was interpreted and addressed, and to contribute additional insights on any unresolved issues.   Thank you for helping us shape the future of HORTICERT! 👉 Access to the System Documents is still possible through the following link: https://lnkd.in/eRuAr4FA   #HORTICERT #Sustainability #Certification #PublicConsultation #SystemDocuments #PeatSubstitutes

📄 FNR Press Release on HORTICERT Stakeholder Workshop We are thrilled to share the press release by Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) on our 7th HORTICERT Stakeholder workshop. For our English-speaking followers, find a brief summary below! 🌿 With the launch of the HORTICERT certification for sustainable peat substitutes, the first seven companies have officially received their certificates. Several other organizations are currently in the process toward achieving certification. 🔍 HORTICERT certification ensures that potting soils and horticultural substrates are produced sustainably and can be traced through international supply chains. Up to 140 criteria are evaluated per location, ensuring both environmentally socially responsible practices. 🌍 The peat content in hobby potting soils from Germany has significantly decreased from 60 % to around 41 % between 2019 and 2023, reflecting a rapid transition away from peat use. Notably, the HORTICERT-certified peat-free potting soil from toom Baumarkt reduces CO2 emissions by up to 40 % compared to a reference product made of 100 % peat. 📈 Pathways to Sustainability: Whether it’s wood fibers, bark humus, coir fibers, or green waste compost – these organic peat alternatives can already be certified under HORTICERT. Efforts are underway to integrate even more peat substitutes into the HORTICERT system. https://lnkd.in/ein2DmzX #HORTICERT #Horticulture #Sustainability #StakeholderWorkshop #Innovation #Certification 

The next HORTICERT Auditor Training is just around the corner! 📅 Join us online on 21 October for an in-depth session covering the HORTICERT system requirements, including our sustainability criteria, GHG methodology, and the digital traceability system HORTI-TRACE, among other things. You are an auditor and are interested in conducting HORTICERT audits or a company interested in obtaining HORTICERT certification? Feel free to contact us via LinkedIn or info@horticert.org to join this training or sign up for the next one. #Sustainability #Auditing #HORTICERT #Training #AuditorTraining

🌿Two weeks ago, our team had the great opportunity to participate in the #ToPGa Transferworkshop, where we had the chance to connect with key market players, including tree nurseries, and present our certification system, HORTICERT.   As an international certification system for peat substitutes, #HORTICERT plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability across the international supply chains of peat substitutes. HORTICERT certification ensures the sustainable production and processing of substrate raw materials while also verifying the carbon footprint of products.   A special thanks goes to Anja Kretzschmann for organizing this insightful workshop and giving us the chance to contribute!

🔔 Reminder – there's still time to submit your feedback on the HORTICERT System Documents! 🌱 We value your input as we work to refine our certification system and ensure it meets the highest standards. If you haven’t had a chance yet, we encourage all interested parties to review the HORTICERT system documents and share their thoughts. Three system documents are available for public consultation until October 28, 2024: ◼ 01 System Basics  ◼ 02 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◼ 03 Group Certification Your feedback is crucial for creating a transparent, accurate, and efficient certification system. Let’s continue improving HORTICERT together! 👉 Review and provide feedback here: https://lnkd.in/eRuAr4FA #HORTICERT #Feedback #PublicConsultation #Sustainability #CertificationSystem

🌍 Join the 7th HORTICERT Stakeholder Workshop  🌱 We are excited to share that HORTICERT will be hosting its 7th Stakeholder Workshop on October 10, 2024 as an in-person event in Berlin, Germany. The event will be hosted in collaboration with the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR), featuring insightful presentations from various stakeholders (including NGOs and pilot companies) as well as from the HORTICERT project team from Meo Carbon Solutions. Our workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of HORTICERT, share experiences from the first official certification processes, and discuss relevant future developments. We aim to create a valuable platform for our stakeholders to exchange knowledge, discuss about challenges, and contribute to the ongoing development of the HORTICERT certification system. While the primary format will be in-person, remote participation options will also be offered to ensure that every interested party can participate. In case you are new to HORTICERT and interested in taking part remotely, feel free to message us via LinkedIn or the HORTICERT contact form on our website. Make sure to follow us to stay updated on the HORTICERT Stakeholder Workshop 2024! #HORTICERT #PeatSubstitutes #CertificationSystem #StakeholderWorkshop #Berlin #Horticulture #Sustainability #ClimateAction

🌟 First HORTICERT Certificate goes to Gebrüder Mayer (toom Baumarkt, REWE Group)! 🌟 We are delighted to announce that Erdenwerk Gebrüder Mayer, the growing media producer of toom Baumarkt, is the first company in Germany to successfully complete the HORTICERT audit and thus receive official HORTICERT certification! This achievement underscores Erdenwerk Gebrüder Mayer's and toom Baumarkt’s commitment towards sustainable practices in the horticultural industry. Congratulations to the team on this exceptional accomplishment! 👏 #HORTICERT #ErdenwerkGebrüderMayer #toomBaumarkt #Certification #Horticulture #PeatSubstitutes #Sustainability #PressRelease

HORTICERT System Documents are now available for Public Consultation! 🌱 We are excited to announce that the official HORTICERT System Documents are now published on our website and available for public consultation! Over the next 60 days, we invite all stakeholders – ranging from industry experts and partners to certification bodies and potential system users – to review our documents and provide their comments. Your feedback is invaluable for refining our certification system, ensuring that HORTICERT meets the highest standards of transparency, accuracy, and efficiency. Please feel free to share this post and our website link to help us reach a wider audience. Your support is greatly appreciated! 🔍 To review the documents and share your thoughts, click here  👉 https://lnkd.in/eRuAr4FA Let’s work together to further improve our certification system! #HORTICERT #SystemDocuments #PeatSubstitutes #CertificationSystem #PublicConsultation #StakeholderEngagement #Transparency #ContinuousImprovement

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the 'Niedersächsisches Torfersatzforum' at 3N Kompetenzzentrum e.V. in Werlte, where we had insightful discussions on topsoil sustainability and took part in a very informative excursion to peatland restoration sites in Papenburg. Topsoil is removed prior to the restoration and rewetting of peatlands and is currently being investigated for its potential use in horticultural substrates. These discussions were of great interest to us as we consider including topsoil as a peat alternative under #HORTICERT in the future.