In a world where climate change is increasingly impacting the environment, landscaping plays an increasingly important role. Do you rake the leaves off your lawn in winter and throw them in the bin, or do you leave them for the birds and insects to boost biodiversity in your garden? That's what they call biofuel at Groenfra, the landscaping specialist based in Zaandam.

“It is all about awareness. What are we doing?” says Ton Rumphorst, who is responsible for both commerce and quality control at Groenfra .

Our challenge is to be 100% circular within two years. This means we process branches, trunks, and other wood, for example, as construction wood chips. There's a lot of demand for that. But you can also simply reuse leaves and other garden materials.
And by thinking logically and acting ahead, you can create a pond in your garden with relatively small interventions, which can then be turned into a sandbox in the next phase of your life and transformed into a new water feature once the children have left home.”

“Do you have waste or do you have raw materials?”

 

Green, tree and garden technology

Since Ton joined Groenfra in 2014, when it was still called TC Groentechiek, several companies have been acquired and merged. As a result, they now have three strong disciplines. Groenfra advises on and implements innovative green space management systems, primarily for municipalities and government agencies.

“We take care of the felling and replanting of trees in West and Nieuw West for the municipality of Amsterdam. And this has to be done in an innovative way. This means less CO2 emissions and less machinery, materials, and the vehicle fleet.
must all meet the requirements of a so-called sustainability clause,” Ton continues.

Groenfra also specializes in tree maintenance, pruning, removal, and planting, which we do for government agencies, businesses, and individuals. We also cater to the specific needs of businesses and individuals, such as roof gardens, green roof facades, and more. For example, Groenfra can transform black roofs into green. Rainwater is retained and then flows more naturally into the garden, the groundwater, or the sewer system. Besides being better for the environment, it also provides cooling in the summer. Finally, the roofing lasts longer.

“We can transform empty roofs into the air conditioning of the urban area”

Sustainability, CO2 emissions and business damage

Groenfra stands at the 5th ^rung of the CO2 ladder. And that is a significant achievement. Sustainability is a top priority there. “We try to reduce service mileage by planning better and gaining better insight into the work. Because we know where our staff is, a colleague can help another colleague at the end of the workday. That way, we don't have to drive the whole way again the next day. They are small things that make a big difference to our CO2 footprint,” says Ton.

Groenfra is also critical of its contracts. Ton explains: "We primarily do our work in the Den Helder – Leiden – Almere triangle. It's not only a waste of time to go any further, but also a waste of mileage and fuel. There's plenty to do for everyone."

“The cars are the calling cards of your company”

The extension to the trip registration that TrackJack  with Green Driving offers is very interesting for Groenfra. "We're not interested in control, but the vehicles are your company's calling cards. So it's good to know how the vehicles are being handled. Insight into CO2 emissions is a very nice thing."
“incidental,” concludes Ton.

 

Digital journey registration for the Tax Authorities

Until 2016, Groenfra used a different mileage registration system. “It worked with cassettes that had to be read out on Fridays. But that was sometimes forgotten, and then the cassette would be full. That was quite inconvenient. We then started testing TrackJack. It was very user-friendly, and the price-quality ratio was perfect. In the beginning, it was mainly about the tax authorities and not about auditing staff. We needed to be able to easily submit the trip logs to the Tax and Customs Administration,” says Ton. The second goal, working more efficiently and focusing more on sustainability, soon followed.

The company has a very clear vision for the future. Groenfra is committed to sustainability, innovation, and awareness. Ton has a wonderful quote about it: "Nature is simple, but people don't listen."