innocent drinks
The company innocent drinks is well known for its sustainable smoothies and juices. The growth they have made over the years is the result of their vast ambitions. The smoothie brand focusses on creating products that benefit people as well as the planet. They not only sell their drinks in countries across Europe (including the Netherlands) and now in Asia, but will now also produce these on Dutch grounds in their brand new, CO2-neutral factory called ‘the blender’ in order to further reduce their CO2 footprint.
A carbon neutral production facility
As stated in the Dutch Climate Act, the Netherlands must reduce CO2 emissions by 49% in 2030 compared to 1990 and even more (95%) by 2050. The goal is for the Netherlands to be completely cut off natural gas by 2050. innocent will support these objectives by demonstrating a sustainable and all-electric production site at Rotterdam’s port area (Europoort). The factory will be known as the blender.
This enormous innovative project will result in the first Dutch carbon neutral food manufacturing facility running on an all-electric energy solution (based on heat pumps and e-boilers among others). Furthermore, water consumption and waste will be reduced to a bare minimum. The factory will also offer approximately 190 new jobs and aims to become the first factory to receive a WELL-certificate by focusing on the best and most healthy working conditions for their employees. The goal is to create a space that embraces sustainability, inclusiveness, accessibility, and convenience.
Realising ambitions with the help of DEI+
Hezelburcht supported innocent drinks in applying for a Demonstration of Energy Innovations (DEI+) grant, which they have been awarded because of their demonstrable investments in innovative and energy-saving technologies. Hezelburcht is proud to have supported Innocent with such an ambitious project.
The cherry on top: BREEAM-NL certificate
The design of ‘the blender’ has earned innocent drinks a BREEAM-NL certificate. This is a tool to measure and assess the sustainability performance of a building. In other words, the factory meets all kinds of stringent sustainability requirements and is rewarded for this with one of the most important quality marks for sustainable building in the Netherlands! An impressive achievement, but well deserved for the first factory in the Netherlands to be powered by 100% renewable energy.
