CONO Cheese Makers, known for the Beemster cheese brand, is the first dairy organisation in our country to be climate-neutral certified by the Climate Neutral Group. "And we are extremely proud of that," says general director Wim Betten. "To achieve a top performance you have to excel in all areas. This is the way we have worked at CONO Kaasmakers for over 100 years. We have used this experience to make the most efficient use of energy with the latest technology."

Energy-efficient technology
Sustainable materials and environmentally friendly construction techniques were used as much as possible in the construction of the new cheese production facility. In addition, a great deal was invested in energy-efficient technology, such as a sustainable ice water installation. This can be used to cool both the building and a number of installations. The centrifuges have also been developed sustainably. "The milk that arrives here directly from the farms must first be skimmed. This is done in so-called centrifuges. They work under vacuum, so we need much less energy to keep them going," says Betten.

Reuse of energy
Making cheese requires a great deal of water and energy. Through smart innovation, CONO Kaasmakers has made great strides in recent years in reusing this energy. An example: heat is needed to process the cold milk. The whey from the process is warm and must be cooled again. "We now allow these two products to flow past each other in tubes via a plate exchanger. This way, the milk heats up and the whey cools down," says Betten. The residual water that remains after the cow's milk has been processed is largely used to clean the cheese factory.

Green energy from our own farmers
The dairy cooperative has 440 member dairy farmers. Almost 30% of these farms now generate their own green power, through solar panels and wind turbines. "We are now buying this sustainably generated power and thereby stimulating the energy transition within our sector. It is our ambition, via the members of our dairy cooperative, to eventually generate enough green power for the entire cheese chain," says Betten.

_{CO2 compensation}
Thanks to all these measures, CONO Cheese Makers can now call itself a truly green cheese factory. That is a world-class achievement, certainly for a company that processes some 400 million kilograms of milk every year. To neutralise the last unavoidable_{CO2 emissions}, CONO Kaasmakers uses_{CO2 compensation}. This is done via sustainable climate projects elsewhere in the world. The company works with Climate Neutral Group for this. "We are now doing that with a forest conservation project in Brazil, among other things. This project creates jobs, improves the environment and reduces_{CO2 emissions}," says Betten.

Sustainability is in CONO's DNA
But it is not just about sustainable materials and energy-efficient machines. Behaviour too is an important part of CONO Kaasmakers' sustainable strategy. "We stay true to traditions, such as stirring the curds by hand and natural ripening. We also apply the most modern sustainable techniques to make our production as energy-efficient as possible. We have also been working on sustainability on the farm for 10 years through our Caring Dairy programme. This is how we continue to distinguish ourselves in terms of real taste and sustainability."