Non-financial results

We assess and report on our ESG (environment, social and governance) performance through EcoVadis, the global leader in business sustainability ratings. In our latest rating, which was completed in 2023, we earned a Gold medal and scored 76/100 points, which places Numidia in the top 2% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco industry. EcoVadis enables us to measure performance, uncover risks and identify where and how we can improve our overall ESG impact.

Environmental results

Numidia ranks in the top 3% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the Wholesale of food, beverages, and tobacco industry in the environment theme. In sustainable procurement, Numidia is in the top 2% of companies rated by EcoVadis in this industry.

Numidia has a leading position in the market when it comes to the environment. We were the first global dairy trader to map our CO₂ emissions (2018) and we have been fully compensating our emissions since 2019. Numidia’s own carbon footprint is compensated using CO₂ certificates from a methane reduction project on dairy farms. The footprint of transport and warehousing organized by Numidia is compensated using CO₂ certificates from a hydropower project in India. By doing so, we ensure that the process from collecting the goods from the supplier to delivering products to our customers, including our own activities, is compensated and therefore CO₂ neutral. Of course, preventing CO₂ emissions is even more important than compensating for them.

At Numidia, we are continuously refining our policy on this topic. For example, from 2025 onward all new lease cars will be fully electric. We also exclusively use wind and solar energy to prevent CO₂ emissions from energy generation. In addition, we try to prevent waste as much as possible.

We have adjusted our target to be more ambitious: we want to reduce our scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2030 (compared to our 2018 baseline). In 2023 we achieved a CO₂ reduction of 29% compared with 2018.

climate change

Climate change is a material topic and concerns the reducing, minimizing and compensating of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from Numidia’s operations and our value chain.

We distinguish between scope 1, 2 and 3 in reporting emissions resulting from our business operations. Scope 1 includes direct GHG emissions from owned equipment and the use of lease cars. Scope 2 includes indirect emissions related to energy consumption in our office buildings, emissions from business travel and employee commuting. Scope 3 includes indirect GHG emissions related to warehousing, transport and freezing processes. The table below includes an overview of Numidia’s total CO₂ emissions.

Numidia applies a three-step policy: we measure and calculate emissions, share this information with our business partners to promote transparency and awareness within the supply chain, and then provide insight into and implement prevention and reduction measures. We have taken the extra step of mapping the so-called upstream emissions, which arise during the production and processing of the dairy products that we buy and sell. Mapping provides us with additional insight into the value chain and reduction opportunities. The objective is to offer our customers the option of offsetting these emissions in the future. All the emissions identified in Numidia’s carbon footprint are offset using carbon credits from the VCS or Gold Standard platforms.

waste reduction

The figure below shows the amount of waste per category in 2023.

Although Numidia has no hazardous materials and waste is a relatively small part of the environmental impact that Numidia has, all employees are responsible for properly separating waste. We separate the following waste streams within the head office: plastic, metal, drink cartons (PMD), residual waste and paper/carton.  

Our service partner processes the different types of waste into raw materials, green energy and gray energy. Residue is waste that cannot be recycled. Figure recyclable waste shows the percentage of recyclable waste by category. In 2023, this amounted to 89% (7,393 kg) of the total waste.

Figure avoided CO₂ emissions, shows the annual volume of CO₂ emissions that were avoided through the implementation of waste separation policies. In total, 1,850 kg of CO₂ emissions were avoided in 2023.

Social results

Numidia is in the top 11% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the Wholesale of food, beverages, and tobacco industry in the labor & human rights theme, which encompasses topics like health and safety, working conditions, career management and human rights issues.

Great Place to Work: three years in a row

For the last three years, Numidia has participated in the in the Great Place to Work (GPTW) survey. We were granted the GPTW certification in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The table below shows the 2023 results. When comparing these results to those from 2022, we see improved scores across each subject.

hiring: 41 new Numidians

Our success strategy starts with the hiring and training of world-class employees. In 2023, 41 new employees were hired.

human capital

We invest in the Numidians, our human capital and most important assets. In 2023, each of our employees received on average 41 hours of fully paid training. Male and female employees received an equal amount of training. We offer our various training options through the Numidia Academy. Several of these trainings are mandatory, as determined by the employee’s role within the company, and attendance is recorded accordingly.

economic inclusion of workers in the value chain

We work extensively with suppliers to provide products and services, including warehousing and transport. At the start of any collaboration, Numidia conducts an assessment of the impact of a supplier on the topics of quality, environment and sustainability. The quality impact of a supplier is assessed based on the food and/or feed safety certificates they hold, the products and/or services they are going to deliver and other details. The environmental impact concerns primarily emissions and other direct environmental risks, and the sustainability impact focuses on social and governance themes, including human rights. Our process ensures that 100% of suppliers are assessed.

Suppliers are evaluated annually and the risk ratings are adjusted as needed. The assessment is based on the information provided by the supplier through Numidia’s Supplier Management Portal. Here, the supplier provides information by filling out questionnaires and submitting applicable certifications. Numidia uses this information to assign an overall risk rating, which is recorded in the database. The risk rating informs the follow-up actions, if any, to improve the risk rating.

product suppliers

Product suppliers are key to providing quality products to our customers. A good partnership with suppliers is of utmost importance in providing food-safe products that match our customers’ expectations. In 2023, we entered into contracts with 239 product suppliers.

transporters

Next to transporting products from loading at our suppliers to delivery to our customers, transporters play a valuable role as the eyes and ears of Numidia. They are key to ensuring the proper quality of products and product packaging during loading, transport and delivery. When selecting transport companies and forwarders, we consider both the quality of their services and their contributions to CO₂ reduction.

warehouses and production facilities

Warehouses play a similarly valuable role and are essential to safeguarding product quality during the receipt, storage and dispatch of products. Numidia’s operations department is in daily contact with warehousing providers.

Individual customers

In 2023, we served 705 customers and completed 11,742 unique sales transactions.

diversity, equity & inclusion

In 2023, Numidia had 118 Numidians.  This includes: interns, seasonal workers and statutory directors. Agents, independent sales representatives and VCC employees are excluded. The Numidians consist of 30 nationalities. We value the diversity of our team, and we strongly believe that we are more successful when we understand the cultures and backgrounds of our customers and stakeholders. Our company culture is inclusive of different views, and we do not look at the world exclusively from a "Western" perspective.

The gender distribution of our workforce is well-balanced between males and females. Numidians also represent various age categories.

Numidia also has an active whistleblower program, whereby both internal and external whistleblowers can report irregularities to Numidia's confidential advisors or to the company’s external confidential advisors. In 2023, one employee contacted the internal confidential advisor. To the best of our knowledge, the report has been handled to the satisfaction of the person who submitted the report. We did not receive any reports of human rights issues and incidents.

access to healthy dairy products

Numidia wants everyone to enjoy the health benefits that dairy products provide. In 2023, we delivered 351 metric tons of dairy products to our customers in more than 100 different countries. These healthy dairy products are shipped all over the world, and we aim to ensure that the products are delivered to the correct destination in the most efficient way possible.

product safety & quality

Numidia attained the BRC Agents & Broker and IFS Broker certification in 2018 to ensure product safety and quality throughout the supply chain. For the European feed market, Numidia has been GMP+ certified since 2014. Numidia is also certified to trade in organic products. With these certifications, we demonstrate that we follow best practices for product traceability, bridging the gap between production and distribution. We see it as our responsibility to ensure that the safety and quality of the products that are produced by our suppliers is maintained during transport, storage and delivery. In 2023, we achieved a 97.73% IFS score and earned an AA rating in the BRC audit.

Governance results

Numidia is in the top 4% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco industry in the ethics theme. The ethics theme focuses primarily on corruption and bribery issues and considers anti-competitive practices and responsible information management.

Non-conformity results

Numidia’s management system is used to register any issues related to, among other topics, environment, services, products, health and safety, and working conditions. These issues are logged as non-conformities. Issues that pose a threat to public safety are called food or feed safety issues. The ultimate goal of logging non-conformities is to prevent them from occurring and thereby improve service delivery to our suppliers and customers. 

The non-conformance team meets at least bi-weekly to discuss all non-conformities. The purpose of these frequent meetings is to respond quickly and take the necessary actions to effectively manage incidents and/or potential emergency situations that impact product safety, legality and quality, and to enable the effective withdrawal and recall of products. The team is also available immediately in case of a (potential) emergency.

In 2023, 384 non-conformities were submitted, which is equal to 0.11% non-conformities per MT of product.  All registered NCs are evaluated as part of the annual management review. Internal audits of procedures and processes allow us to continuously improve our processes. For 2024, our target is set at 0.08% NC/MT.