Ecological companies
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We are very exited about this project and we are glad participate in it. We think that this project is going to be nice and educational. We have a bunch of ideas already, so we are curious how it'll work out. Enjoy our site. Introduction
First we all would like to introduce ourselves.
Main question
What measures do companies take to implement a more eco-friendly policy and to attract more customers? |
Interviews
EccoWhat does the ECCO produce and sell?
ECCO’s tannery in Dongen turns cow hides into usable leather. The main product it produces is leather for ECCO shoes but the leather was of such good quality that they now use it for other products as well such as purses, jackets and phone cases. The factory also sells “waste skin”. The European skins are used in cow gelatine which muslims are allowed to eat .The American hides are used to produce for suede. The waste like hairs, manure, flesh etc. that is scraped from the hides is used to produce biogas. This gas warms and powers all the gas powered machines. If there is too much gas it is burned without use. The company sells the sends the “bad” leather to Asia to produce shoes and the other leather (approximately 50%) is used for other products. The work location is a pretty ordinary tannery with a creton floor. There are barrels turning and processing the leather and further on people put the leather in a scraper to scrape the waste of the hides. Then the skin is photographed and labeled for administration in another machine. In another room the hides are coloured and from American skin waste is used to make suede. Results Ecco
Results interview with Ecco
Who founded ECCO, when and where did it start and who’s the current owner? ECCO was founded in 1963 by the Danish man Karl-Heinz Werner Toosbuy in Bredebro, Denmark. When he died in 2004, Hanni Toosbuy kasprzak and her husband Dieter Kasprzak took over the company. What is the ecological policy of the company. Why has the company adopted this policy ECCO’s goal as a company isn’t to be green. It just wants to do whatever it can (without becoming too crazy) to be green. ECCO just search for solutions with their problems and looks what the best option is. For example with the waste. A normal tannery would burn or transport it to be thrown away. ECCO however, looks for the best solution and decided that the best solution would be to make biogas. Another example is about the wastewater. They decided that it would be best to let the water be cleaned by an external company because they didn’t have the knowledge to clean it optimally. Then they had a new problem: cleaning the water from salt would be very costly. ECCO decided that they would pump the water to the sea. Analyzation of the website of ECCO We went to http://nl.ecco.com/ and after a little research on the website we can conclude ecco.com especially promotes the products they make and not how they make it. The first thing you see on the website is pictures of shoes and bags, no sign they tan their leather in quite an environmental-friendly way (for tanning than, of course). It surely has information about the tanneries,factories, shops and markets all over the world, but Results costumers
We interviewed several persons and this is the conclusion of the interviews. There are a lot of interpretations of the term environmental friendly. Some of the interpretations are: taking good care of animals, natural energy, not too much chemicals, don’t put toxic stuff in the environment and thinking about human and animals with an eye on the future. The customers didn’t know if Ecco was green or not. One answered that she didn’t think so because it is a big company and she thought that it is really hard to be green when the company is big. Some of the people in our group agree with this idea. They didn’t buy the shoes with the idea that they were made environmental friendly because they didn’t know if Ecco is. They bought the shoes because they think the shoes look good and fit nicely. Nobody could give Ecco a hint to get more environmental friendly. As said before the shoes are bought because they look and fit nice. We are really thankfull for the tour through the Ecco factory in Dongen. We really want to thank this company for their hospitality and for the fact that they helped us with our project. The information was really educational. We learned a lot about leather and the process of making it. So thanks for the time you took for us, Ecco and we hope to turn the tonnes of infomation we got into a nice result.
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Dairy farm from Het Kwatrijn in Kaatsheuvel
Results Het Kwatrijn
The organization. Who founded it, when and where did it start and who is the current owner?
The Kwatrijn stable in Kaatsheuvel is found by Sjaak Sprangers. He started it in 1983. Because of a super charge he needed to stop the company. He could restart it in 1994. The same year he started with Jersey cows. In 2002 he changed the farm to a biological farm. It started in Kaatsheuvel and the current owner is still Sjaak Sprangers.
The workplace. Describe the work location. What does the organization produce, sell, build?
It is a Kwatrijn stable. This is a special type of stable. It has no walls, so the cows have 24/7 fresh air. The floor is a special one with holes in it, so the urine will pass through. The manure is collected by a special robot. The cows have laying parts with straw. This straw is brought there by a machine. The cows he has, Jersey cows, produce milk. He sells the milk to Mekkerstee in Goeree-Overflakkee. Mekkerstee makes cheese and ice-cream from the Jersey milk.
What is the ecological policy of the company. Why has the company adopted this policy?
The policy of the company is to get a good balance between the well-being of the cows, modern technology that can help the farmer and ,above all, being environmentally friendly. The company has adopted this policy partly because it was more interesting to do biological farming because they can sell the milk for more and the main reason being that he already kind of started with going green and that he decided to go all in. He of course also is interested in biological farming and is clearly interested in the biological cow-milking practice
What are concrete measures that the company has taken. Who and where are the main customers? What is done to get more customers?
Mister Sprangers is as environmentally friendly as can be. To name a few things:
He uses no artificial fertilizer, only the manure and pee from his own cows.
He doesn’t import anything except some extra feed for his cows.
He has solar panels to power his stable and 20 other houses.
He lets his cows graze on the fields when that is good for the cows and when they are in the stable they have a lot of space
The main consumers are:
the mekkerstee which makes biological cheese from the milk
the Lidl, a supermarket chain which makes “jersey icecream from it.
R-website-advertisements. Analyse the website of the company.
This company doesn't have a very clear site neither do they advertise a lot, because it is a very small company. On the site you can find the policy of being ecological.
Future plans?
The future plans of the dairy farm are to go on the way it goes now, he can’t really think of a way to be even more environmentally friendly.
The Kwatrijn stable in Kaatsheuvel is found by Sjaak Sprangers. He started it in 1983. Because of a super charge he needed to stop the company. He could restart it in 1994. The same year he started with Jersey cows. In 2002 he changed the farm to a biological farm. It started in Kaatsheuvel and the current owner is still Sjaak Sprangers.
The workplace. Describe the work location. What does the organization produce, sell, build?
It is a Kwatrijn stable. This is a special type of stable. It has no walls, so the cows have 24/7 fresh air. The floor is a special one with holes in it, so the urine will pass through. The manure is collected by a special robot. The cows have laying parts with straw. This straw is brought there by a machine. The cows he has, Jersey cows, produce milk. He sells the milk to Mekkerstee in Goeree-Overflakkee. Mekkerstee makes cheese and ice-cream from the Jersey milk.
What is the ecological policy of the company. Why has the company adopted this policy?
The policy of the company is to get a good balance between the well-being of the cows, modern technology that can help the farmer and ,above all, being environmentally friendly. The company has adopted this policy partly because it was more interesting to do biological farming because they can sell the milk for more and the main reason being that he already kind of started with going green and that he decided to go all in. He of course also is interested in biological farming and is clearly interested in the biological cow-milking practice
What are concrete measures that the company has taken. Who and where are the main customers? What is done to get more customers?
Mister Sprangers is as environmentally friendly as can be. To name a few things:
He uses no artificial fertilizer, only the manure and pee from his own cows.
He doesn’t import anything except some extra feed for his cows.
He has solar panels to power his stable and 20 other houses.
He lets his cows graze on the fields when that is good for the cows and when they are in the stable they have a lot of space
The main consumers are:
the mekkerstee which makes biological cheese from the milk
the Lidl, a supermarket chain which makes “jersey icecream from it.
R-website-advertisements. Analyse the website of the company.
This company doesn't have a very clear site neither do they advertise a lot, because it is a very small company. On the site you can find the policy of being ecological.
Future plans?
The future plans of the dairy farm are to go on the way it goes now, he can’t really think of a way to be even more environmentally friendly.
Results Customers
It was not easy to find customers who buy things directly from the farm because the milk goes to an ice making company. We did found some people who bought the ice-cream and interviewed them.
Some of the interpretations of environmental friendly are: be efficient with products, don’t waste a lot of things, don’t transport unnecessary and spare materials when possible.
The people who bought the ice-cream didn’t really know the farm. Someone searched on the internet and thinks the farm is really environmental friendly.
They bought the ice-cream partially because the cows live in a special kind of barn which is friendlier to animals and nature.
Nobody could think of hints to make this company more environmental friendly.
They bought the ice-cream mostly because they didn’t know the kind of ice-cream and wanted to try it out. Someone also wanted to find out the difference between normal ice-cream and this ice-cream made of Jersey milk.
It was not easy to find customers who buy things directly from the farm because the milk goes to an ice making company. We did found some people who bought the ice-cream and interviewed them.
Some of the interpretations of environmental friendly are: be efficient with products, don’t waste a lot of things, don’t transport unnecessary and spare materials when possible.
The people who bought the ice-cream didn’t really know the farm. Someone searched on the internet and thinks the farm is really environmental friendly.
They bought the ice-cream partially because the cows live in a special kind of barn which is friendlier to animals and nature.
Nobody could think of hints to make this company more environmental friendly.
They bought the ice-cream mostly because they didn’t know the kind of ice-cream and wanted to try it out. Someone also wanted to find out the difference between normal ice-cream and this ice-cream made of Jersey milk.
We really want to thank you for the tour through your farm. We learned a lot about biological / ecological dairy farms. We now know what it means to be biological/ecological. We liked to see your enthousiasm and your information, you showed us that dairy farms can be a lot environmental friendly than we thought they could be, so thank you Sjaak and Jersey cows for helping us with our project.
Conclusion
What measures does the ECCO tannery in Dongen take to implement a more eco-friendly policy and to attract more customers?
The ECCO tannery in Dongen does a lot of things for the environment. For example, it ‘recycles’ water by taking out the chemicals and using it again for the washing and tanning for the skins. After the filtration of the water, The filter residue is separated and made into biogas. They use this biogas for heating the tannery. By doing this the company doesn’t need to use fossil fuels which is better for the environment and doesn’t ‘ speed up’ global warming. So, ECCO makes it’s own biogas from waste materials and therefore restricts waste. To get more customers that fit into ECCO’s portfolio ( they do not make leather for cars or belts for example) ECCO tries to present itself in a certain way via media, new customers are invited for a tour and to see what they can achieve together. ECCO wants to build good relationships with other companies for a long-term working relationship. It’s important for ECCO to deliver what was promised, so good quality for a good price and on-time delivery of the leather. As you can see, ECCO promotes itself by trying to build up a good name and via the media.
We found it really difficult to think of an improvement for this company. But we have some ideas:
1 They could use solar penals.
2 They could try to sell the biogas which they have left instead of burning it.
3They could use a turbine to make electricity of the bio gass.
What measures does Het Kwatrijn in Kaatsheuvel take to implement a more eco-friendly policiy and to attract more customers?
Het Kwatrijn does a lot for the environment. They don't interfere in the lifes of the cows. They too use solar penals on the roof of their stable next to that, the stable is open so they don't need fentilation and they don't have any heaters. They recycle the manure and urine of the cows, they use this as fertilizer for the grass. They don't use irrigation, so they only use the rain to water their grass. Besides that, the younger cows, who need more care, are kept closer to the house of the farmer, so he doesn't have to travel to the stable the whole time. So they are really environment friendly. They don't promote themselves, because they only sell the products to the Lidl and the Mekkerstee.
We found it really difficult to think of an improvement for this company and at the end we came to a solution. They are really good. Maybe you could tell other farmers what you do, because we couldn't think of another improvement.
The ECCO tannery in Dongen does a lot of things for the environment. For example, it ‘recycles’ water by taking out the chemicals and using it again for the washing and tanning for the skins. After the filtration of the water, The filter residue is separated and made into biogas. They use this biogas for heating the tannery. By doing this the company doesn’t need to use fossil fuels which is better for the environment and doesn’t ‘ speed up’ global warming. So, ECCO makes it’s own biogas from waste materials and therefore restricts waste. To get more customers that fit into ECCO’s portfolio ( they do not make leather for cars or belts for example) ECCO tries to present itself in a certain way via media, new customers are invited for a tour and to see what they can achieve together. ECCO wants to build good relationships with other companies for a long-term working relationship. It’s important for ECCO to deliver what was promised, so good quality for a good price and on-time delivery of the leather. As you can see, ECCO promotes itself by trying to build up a good name and via the media.
We found it really difficult to think of an improvement for this company. But we have some ideas:
1 They could use solar penals.
2 They could try to sell the biogas which they have left instead of burning it.
3They could use a turbine to make electricity of the bio gass.
What measures does Het Kwatrijn in Kaatsheuvel take to implement a more eco-friendly policiy and to attract more customers?
Het Kwatrijn does a lot for the environment. They don't interfere in the lifes of the cows. They too use solar penals on the roof of their stable next to that, the stable is open so they don't need fentilation and they don't have any heaters. They recycle the manure and urine of the cows, they use this as fertilizer for the grass. They don't use irrigation, so they only use the rain to water their grass. Besides that, the younger cows, who need more care, are kept closer to the house of the farmer, so he doesn't have to travel to the stable the whole time. So they are really environment friendly. They don't promote themselves, because they only sell the products to the Lidl and the Mekkerstee.
We found it really difficult to think of an improvement for this company and at the end we came to a solution. They are really good. Maybe you could tell other farmers what you do, because we couldn't think of another improvement.
Awareness activity
We thought of ways to promote biological/ ecological products.
1 By the use of mass media/ social media.
2 Shops could bargain it more often.
3 Supermarkets could hand out a pass with which you can buy ecological product with discount.
4 Put more of those products in canteens.
5 Make a law which says that a certain percentage of the products in shops and supermarkets needs to be biological.
6 Ecco had a project which was called Leather with guts. Which made children aware of what was going on in such a big factory. It would be wonderful if they could do that again.
7 Advertisements.
8 Informe farmers about how they can handle it. But next to farmers also other factories and companies.
9 Attractive packages.
10 Being more strict with the checking of companies.
11 Make certain boundries in being biological. So describing what being biological exactly is.
12 More viewing days for schools or other people, so people see what is going on in those factories and understand the meaning of being biological, because a lot of people don't know.
1 By the use of mass media/ social media.
2 Shops could bargain it more often.
3 Supermarkets could hand out a pass with which you can buy ecological product with discount.
4 Put more of those products in canteens.
5 Make a law which says that a certain percentage of the products in shops and supermarkets needs to be biological.
6 Ecco had a project which was called Leather with guts. Which made children aware of what was going on in such a big factory. It would be wonderful if they could do that again.
7 Advertisements.
8 Informe farmers about how they can handle it. But next to farmers also other factories and companies.
9 Attractive packages.
10 Being more strict with the checking of companies.
11 Make certain boundries in being biological. So describing what being biological exactly is.
12 More viewing days for schools or other people, so people see what is going on in those factories and understand the meaning of being biological, because a lot of people don't know.
Reaction on first video conference 30-11-2016
The video conference was nice. We really liked to see the students in India and share what we were doing in the project. It was a pity that we couldn't hear each other very well, because this made it difficult to share information with India and to receive their information. Next to that the planning didn't go as planned and therefore we got less time to do the conference.
Last year we participated in the program of Eumind called Regions and this year the videoconference went much better. So thanks for the improvement.
Last year we participated in the program of Eumind called Regions and this year the videoconference went much better. So thanks for the improvement.
Reflection
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We really liked this project and at first we didn't really understand the meaning of it, but now we do and we are thankfull that we could participate in this project, because it made us aware of the things which are going on close by.
We were really relieved when weebly worked, so thanks for solving that problem.
We have been to two wonderful companies and we are very thankfull for the tours and the time which they gave us. We had some nice disscusions and we learned a lot from each other. Now we know what being biological/ ecological acctually means.
Next to that, the documentary we saw was really impressive and we didn't know that this had happened, it made us aware of the dangers we live in when companies don't be carefull and when they don't pay attention to the environment.
We were really relieved when weebly worked, so thanks for solving that problem.
We have been to two wonderful companies and we are very thankfull for the tours and the time which they gave us. We had some nice disscusions and we learned a lot from each other. Now we know what being biological/ ecological acctually means.
Next to that, the documentary we saw was really impressive and we didn't know that this had happened, it made us aware of the dangers we live in when companies don't be carefull and when they don't pay attention to the environment.