Minister Veerman presented with first copy of VanDrie Group's Social Profile

The VanDrie Group, world market leader in veal with turnover of EUR 1.7 billion per year, is setting the trend in the sector when it comes to socially responsible business. The company plays a leading role in terms of sustainability across the production chain. This fact was underscored on 9 October by Minister Veerman of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality when he was presented with the very first copy of the company's Social Profile by Henny Swinkels, Director Corporate Affairs VanDrie Group.

In "Pure Veal" the VanDrie Group highlights its social profile by focussing on the three Ps of People, Planet and Profit. The family company sees veal production as a tradition and a craft. Trust, respect and care are important values in this craft. It begins with the care shown to the animals by the around 1200 veal farmers. With many of these farmers, the VanDrie Group has a relationship spanning generations, based on mutual trust.

The VanDrie Group's position as market leader enables it to work together with colleagues in the sector on the 'Planet' aspects. A perfect example of the Planet aspect is the calves' group housing. Together with the Dutch animal protection organisation and government, the VanDrie Group has been able to make group housing into a legal standard across Europe. Other examples in this area include the state-of-the-art manure treatment and the strict SKV quality control system designed to combat the use of prohibited growth promoters. The group focuses on the P of People by the open and transparent approach it adopts towards the community at large. Examples include regular consultation with social organisations, government bodies and the world of politics.

The logo of the family company the VanDrie Group features the colours red, blue and white. The group is proud of its Dutch heritage, which it is keen to maintain. As such, the VanDrie Group exports its products to some 60 countries, making a substantial contribution to the country's balance of payments. For the Dutch VanDrie Group, Europe is the home market. Some years ago the company introduced its "Safety Guard" quality assurance system in order to guarantee transparency to all its customers.

This provided solid, testable and transparent quality assurance across all company activities, ranging from the calf through to veal. It is a system that is unique in the world.

In a nutshell, the VanDrie Group is a family company that takes responsibility for its actions in all areas of socially responsible business. With the role of government shifting from that of facilitator to enforcer, or from 'caring for' to 'ensuring that', the VanDrie Group is opting for the former right across the veal production chain. It can do so thanks to its sheer size and the commitment of the 1200 veal farmers and 1750 employees at the VanDrie Group.

You can read the report here