9 September 2021

Nordzucker starts the campaign 2021/22 well prepared

Nordzucker will start processing this year’s sugar beet on 10 September. An average harvest is expected across the Group. Special hygiene conditions are still in place to prevent infection with Covid-19. Nordzucker expects the campaign to end in mid-January 2022.

Braunschweig. Nordzucker is producing its first sugar this year as part of the organic beet campaign at the Schladen plant in Germany. Nordzucker processes beet from organic cultivation in Schladen, Nykøbing (Denmark) and Kèdainiai (Lithuania) at the beginning of each campaign. The other Nordzucker plants in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia start processing beet between 11 September and the beginning of October.

Cool weather delayed sugar beet development

After rapid sowing in April, there was far too little rain in some of the Nordzucker Group’s growing regions during the early summer. It was not until July that the onset of precipitation in almost all countries led to an easing of the situation and significant growth in beet.

With slightly lower sugar contents than in previous years, Nordzucker expects an average harvest. Last year the Group produced about 2.7 million tonnes of sugar.

Investments in energy and environmental measures

“Our colleagues have prepared the factories well for the campaign, even under the challenging conditions of the Corona pandemic,” explains Axel Aumüller, COO. “Our hygiene measures for Covid-19 have been implemented and have become routine. The primary goal this year is and remains the prevention of infections and a safe campaign.”

Current planning assumes a campaign duration of 114 days and an end of beet processing around mid-January 2022.
A particular focus of this year’s investments has been to improve the plants’ energy balance. With this aim in mind, Nordzucker has renewed the pulp-presses in Nordstemmen and the raw sugar centrifuges in Uelzen. Aumüller explains: “As part of our sustainability strategy, we are pursuing the goal of further reducing CO₂ emissions in our factories with the GoGreen project. In the long term, we will and must manage without fossil energy. These are major challenges for us that require enormous investments and also innovations.”

Nordzucker has committed to the Science Based Target Initiative: work is now underway on an independent and scientific basis to achieve the Group-wide target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

New sustainability strategy launched

Nordzucker’s sustainability strategy covers the entire company and is based on four pillars. “The first pillar of our strategy focuses on people. It is our employees who contribute to the success of the company every day with their knowledge, commitment and ideas: they are the backbone of Nordzucker,” says Lars Gorissen, CEO. In addition to further reducing emissions, Nordzucker has set itself sustainability targets in the areas of procurement, beet cultivation, products and packaging.

Campaign starts of all Nordzucker factories: