Our Thinking Stories
Discover what our thinking is about
Discover what our thinking is about
The horticultural sector is already a pioneer when it comes to sustainable, clean and safe food production. But how is the sector going to make the transition to a fully circular production system in the coming ten years?
Biological and natural principles are being practiced in the greenhouse on a daily basis. As a result, growers reduce their emissions and avoid using chemical crop protection products.
The horticulture sector is well on its way to making the transition to a circular economy. The focus here is not on the production of large and cheap quantities of food, but rather on the sustainable use of natural resources. Such as soil, air, water, and residual flows (e.g. waste). In this Food Forward paper, we discuss the development towards a circular economy with three experts, from three different angles: present, past, and future.
The world counts millions of species of flowers, plants and animals. A wealth we are about to enjoy probably to its maximum with Spring knocking on our doors – if you are in the Northern hemisphere this time of the year. Unfortunately, the forecast for the longer term may look cloudier.
The European horticultural sector is developing faster than ever. The only way to understand what these rapid changes mean and what the future will hold for the horticultural sector, is to look back at the driving factors for the sector’s development in the past.
The Grodan story is about sustainable cultivation aimed to leave the world a better place in the future. Our story is about passion, the Precision Growing philosophy is in our genes: higher yields while using less of the world’s valuable natural resources.
Consumers are increasingly looking for quality food which is healthy, safe and at the same time cultivated sustainably.
Less soil, less water, less fertiliser, lower CO2 emissions, but a significantly higher yield. That’s precision agriculture. Stone wool substrates play a key role in this. When plants have their roots deep in the stone wool you can regulate the growth process in the best possible way. This is one of the sustainability benefits of cultivating plants on stone wool. But there are others too!
We need to find more sustainable ways of feeding a growing, more urbanised population.
World Water Day is about focusing attention on the importance of water
Hydroponic greenhouse cultivation is on the rise all around the world.
One of the 15 global challenges formulated by the Millenium project is “How can population growth and resources be brought into balance?“ One aspect of this challenge is improving the use efficiency of the global resources e.g. nutrients. These nutrients are just as important to agriculture as water.
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World population is expected to grow another 1 billion in just 12 years, and reaching 9 billion people in 2050, creating unprecedented demand for food, and hence agricultural land. To keep up with population and economic growth, food production should increase by 70% by 2050.
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Water scarcity is one of the global challenges. The problem of water scarcity is a growing one. Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century. Food and agriculture are the largest consumers of water. As more people put ever increasing demands on limited supplies, the cost and effort to build or even maintain access to water will increase.
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One of the 15 global challenges defined by the Millenium project is ‘clean water’. The UN-water (2010) statement contains the following text: “As a global community, we must refocus our attention on improving and preserving the quality of our water, a challenge that requires bold steps internationally, nationally, and locally. Directing global priorities, funding, and policies to improve water quality can ensure that our water resources can once again become a source of life.
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Vertical farming is on the rise around the world, not least because it supports a number of major societal trends such as local sourcing and sustainability. In this article, Tico van Leeuwen explains why the right growing medium plays an important part in creating the optimal conditions for a strong and healthy crop, and why stone wool is such a good choice for vertical farmers.
In october last year, right before the dark winter months, ten parties from the greenhouse horticulture sector started growing cucumbers at the Botany research center in the Netherlands, as we learned during the first episode of this cucumber trial. These parties came together to investigate how cucumbers can be cultivated in a sustainable and efficient way during winter, with the help of extra (LED) lighting.
As one of the defining systems builders in the horticulture industry based in Horst (the Netherlands) founder and CEO of Light4food Rene van Haeff was convinced that the horizontal and vertical controlled growing systems in combination with light were to be the future solution for growing crops sustainably. Light4Food is a turnkey system builder for a wide variety of crops grown in both greenhouses and vertical farms.
Combining data and plant science is more relevant than ever. If we apply it in the correct way, we could potentially grow fruits and vegetables more efficiently and sustainably, but how do you combine plant and data science?
At the ROCKWOOL Group, we are committed to enriching the lives of everyone who comes into contact with our solutions. Our expertise is perfectly suited to tackle many of today’s biggest sustainability and development challenges, from energy consumption and noise pollution to fire resilience, water scarcity and flooding. Our range of products reflects the diversity of the world’s needs, while supporting our stakeholders in reducing their own carbon footprint.
We are the leading supplier of fire resilient stone wool insulation providing solutions for all major application areas, including technical and OEM.
We are a global leader in the supply of innovative stone wool substrate solutions for the professional horticultural based on Precision Growing principles.
We provide customers with a complete ceiling system offer, combining panels with suspension grid systems and accessories.
We manufacture board material mostly used in ventilated constructions, for façade cladding, roof detailing, soffits and fascias.
We develop innovative products used in a wide range of applications, including friction and water management, tracks, coatings, gaskets and fences.