Two Dutch vegetable producers, Greenco and TW van Noord Tomaten, have signed up to fresh produce marketer The Greenery's Nature Counts sustainability scheme for the next three years, it has been announced.
According to The Greenery, the companies have been awarded the title in recognition of their leading positions in the field of 'growing resistance', a cultivation technique that aims not to push or stimulate plants to their maximum but instead leave plants with more strength and energy to grow, in theory making them less vulnerable to pests and disease.
'This approach creates a strong, resistant plant that produces clean and, above all, tasty fruit,' said a spokesperson The Greenery.
According to a judging panel which oversees membership of the Nature Counts accreditation scheme, TW van Noord Tomaten and Greenco have outdone their competitors in terms of reducing the use of non-biodegradable crop protection products.
Candidates considered for entry into the scheme are assessed across a range of criteria, which taken into account their impact on energy consumption, crop protection, nature and the landscape, transparency, waste, water and their employees.
To join Nature Counts, candidates must be rated as 'exceptional' in at least one of these areas and 'good' in all the others.
