Newsletter Welcome to the 2nd edition of our ‘NIDERA VALUES’ Newsletter!
ASS POW -M E IO
R
B
So what has been going on...?
HOTS
POT H
UTSPO T
Reducing our environmental impact!
New community initiative in Rotterdam!
On page 40 of our CSR report 2013, you can read about the energy reduction efforts our oilseed crushing facility at Saforcada has initiated. By burning biomass waste from the crushing (seed hulls), they simultaneously reduce their waste output and their energy bills!
Hotspot Hutspot is a unique project in Rotterdam. It offers healthy and organic 3-course meals for only 7 euros in two underprivileged areas in the city (Schiebroek and Lombardijen), and in doing so, provides a solution to several ‘big-city problems’.
We talked to Julio Ruffa, our Health, Safety and Environment Manager in Argentina, to hear more about this...
• Children from underprivileged areas can come to the restaurant whenever they want and help with the cooking and serving of the meals. This way they stay off the streets, get a healthy meal and learn what the hospitality trade is all about in a safe and, above all, fun environment! Every day, children are eager to come and help in the kitchens, and getting your meal served by such an enthusiastic waiter improves the flavor of your meal even more! • Local residents can come and eat a good meal for next to nothing. Everyone can afford to go out for dinner at such prices, so social isolation and malnutrition for low-income families are reduced. • The restaurants and their food gardens are located in empty real estate. This prevents the buildings and the neighbourhood from deteriorating and creates gathering places for the community. • The project runs almost completely on volunteers and offers reintegrating young people a place to work their way back into society after mental or physical problems.
What are the advantages of burning biomass? The Saforcada plant crushes both sunflower seeds and soybeans, which together amount to 520 tons of discarded hulls per day. If we were not burning it, we would have to dispose of it as waste, encurring high cost due to transportation, etc. By using it as fuel, we lower our use of fossil fuels and generate 75% of the electricity needed to run the plant. But are there drawbacks as well? Yes, the hulls are high in volume but low in weight and can self-combust if not treated and stored properly, so that is a real concern. In fact, there has already been a fire in the plant due to this, so we are very careful on how we handle storage and fire controls. In addition, an environmental problem associated with using the hulls is the dispersion of particulate matters (ashes) in the atmosphere. We use highly efficient filtration devices on each boiler to counter this. In all, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks!
Hotspot Hutspot is currently trying to become one of the particpants for this year’s ‘Stadsinitiatief’. Our CSR team is working on an initiative to support them, so.... Stay tuned for more news in the near future!
GALIMBERT BOILER AT SAFORCADA
Nidera owns a crushing plant in Saforcada, located 5 kms from Junín in the province of Buenos Aires. It has been in operation since 1992 and has two processing lines, one for crude sunflower oil, the other for crude soybean oil. In additon to sunflower and soybean hulls, the boilers at Saforcada now also burn corn husks from Nidera’s seed plant at Venado Tuerto. From Saforcada, the finished products are transported by train to Nidera’s port at the Paraná river, in the town of Puerto General San Martin. This makes logistics much more efficient and sustainable. Saforcada has a number of environmental and Health & Safety certifications, highlighting the importance that is placed on safety and environment at this plant.
Our Action Committee recently paid a visit to Hotspot Hutspot to check out what they do and what we could help them with. A true hardship!
HOTSPOT HUTSPOT RESTAURANT IN SCHIEBROEK
We talked to the founder, who told us the story of what they do, how they do it and the impact this initiative has already had on the lives of children, locals and volunteers alike. Hotspot Hutspot restaurants have food gardens located nearby, in which locals can lend a hand if they want. Meals are cooked with the produce from these gardens and other organic ingredients donated by companies in Rotterdam, so costs can stay low. For just one euro more than a Big Mac menu, you can eat a healthy and delicious 3-course meal here! For more information about Hotspot Hutspot, go to: www.hotspothutspot.nl
We hope you enjoyed this second edition of the “NIDERA VALUES” Newsletter. For more pictures or information about the subjects in this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact us via csr@nidera.nl.
EMPLOYEES OF THE DAY AT HOTSPOT HUTSPOT ‘SKIBROEK’