As a result of our strategic development, our commitment has grown to consistently orient HEIDEMARK towards the future – ensuring economic success whilst acting responsibly towards animals, people and the environment. For HEIDEMARK, sustainability means consistently integrating responsible practices into our thinking and developing poultry farming in a way that is fit for the future. In doing so, we always consider animal welfare, economic stability and environmental and social aspects in their broader context. In this way, we are doing our bit to help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have firmly embedded these principles in our corporate philosophy.
In 2018, HEIDEMARK formed sustainability team with seven members to bundle and bring forward sustainability activities in the company. The team members come from the Purchasing, Quality Assurance, Human Resources, Marketing and Veterinary departments. Our location in Ahlhorn has been certified according to the ZNU standard since 2019. As the only approved, tested and implemented standard for sustainable management, it includes the three dimensions environment, economy and social. The ZNU standard helps us to become more step by step sustainable and to achieve continuous improvement. In order to make our performance measurable, we are getting externally audited every year.
HEIDEMARK publishes second sustainability report
Transparency builds trust. Our 2025 Sustainability Report therefore provides information on the key developments, projects and progress made in the area of sustainability.
It shows how we are taking responsibility and gradually embedding sustainability into our business practices.
Click here to view the report (english version coming soon)
Questions or suggestions?
If you have any questions about sustainability at HEIDEMARK, please send us an e-mail to nachhaltigkeit(at)heidemark.de
We look forward to hearing from you!
Goals
Making progress measurable
Clearly defined sustainability targets are at the heart of everything we do. We derive short-, medium- and long-term targets based on our materiality analysis. These form the basis for the targeted further development of our activities and help us to make progress measurable and transparent.
In doing so, we give equal consideration to economic, environmental and social requirements. Below, we outline four of our key objectives in the areas of sustainable corporate governance, social responsibility, the environment and the economy.
As at January 2026
The ‘Economy’ and ‘Sustainable Corporate Governance’ targets have been redefined; reliable data for assessing progress towards these targets is not yet available. Information on the progress made in the ‘Social’ and ‘Environmental’ areas is set out in sections 2.1 Climate and 3.4 Health and Safety in the 2025 Sustainability Report.
Sustainable corporate governance
Reducing product range and streamlining processes.
Taking 2025 as our base year, we have set ourselves the target of reducing our product range by 2% by the end of 2026. This will reduce set-up times, minimise material usage and improve efficiency.
Social responsibility
Improving occupational safety and preventing accidents.
Our daily actions are aimed at creating an accident-free working environment. Since 2023, we have been working towards the goal of preventing reportable accidents at work and continuously improving occupational safety.
Enviromental responsibility
Reducing CO₂ emissions and achieving net-zero.
Using 2022 as a baseline, we aim to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions (direct and indirect emissions) at our Ahlhorn site by 40% by 2030. Our long-term goal is to achieve net-zero in Scopes 1 and 2 by 2045.
Economic performance
Boosting innovation and successfully launching new products.
By 2030, we will have streamlined our processes so that a new product will enter the food retail market every year. This product is expected to achieve an average sales volume of 60 tonnes within twelve months and have the potential to become established. 2026 serves as our base year.
Animal welfare at HEIDEMARK
In 2010, we worked with experts from research and agriculture to make animal welfare verifiable by means of indicators. The result of this is a bonus system based on these indicators. Measurable animal welfare indicators, such as the condition of the turkey's foot pads, form the basis for our own bonus system. The better these animal welfare indicators are, the higher the bonus payment for the turkey farmer. These payments are independent of the current animal welfare programs. The majority of farms in Germany are certified according to the Animal Welfare Initiative. The farms keep the animals with a stocking density reduced by 10%, bring in even more activity materials and are monitored even more closely. At the same time, these farms are certified according to the VLOG standard without genetic engineering.
Husbandry systems
Since 2022, we have been offering a continuous supply of produce from the 'Haltungsform 3' husbandry system. The participating farms have reduced stocking density by 30%, provide the animals with an additional outdoor area in addition to the conventional open-stall system, and introduce extra enrichment materials. We achieved our target that year of increasing the proportion of animals from 'Haltungsform 3' by 50% by 2025, compared with the base year of 2022.
Own test Stabels
In the field of animal husbandry, we conduct research in our test stables and carry out application observations. Whether it's a comparison of feed rations, alternative sources of protein, animal genetics, activity materials or new barn technology: In the test compartments we can examine how innovations can also be implemented in practice. For example, we are currently researching how the optimization potential for current feed recipes is in terms of saving or replacing soy as a protein source by using processed animal protein.
Our Wastewater treatment plant
Climate change is making drinking water a scarcer resource everywhere. HEIDEMARK therefore recycles a large proportion of the wastewater generated during production at its own treatment plant. Since 2017, we have been able to increase our water recycling rates from 21% to over 52%, meaning that HEIDEMARK needs to draw significantly less fresh water from the environment. We have installed an additional plant alongside our wastewater treatment plant to recycle the pre-treated water produced. As a result, our treated water is of the same quality as ironing water. The high quality of the water is confirmed by regular internal and external tests. In addition, we are subject to regular inspections by the authorities.
Energy management in accordance with ISO 50001
We have been certified to the DIN EN ISO 50001 energy management system since 2012. The findings from internal and external audits form the basis for identifying and implementing measures to reduce our energy consumption and ensure efficient energy use. These include both technical optimisations and process improvements. We have defined a clear long-term objective and are aiming for net-zero emissions by 2045. This target applies to Heidemark Mästerkreis GmbH and relates to the Ahlhorn site (Scope 1 and 2). To achieve our goal, we have developed a transformation plan that brings together a range of measures, which are to be implemented in stages by 2032.
Packagings
Our top priority is to ensure that our products are always safely packaged and remain so right up until the end of their use-by date. Nevertheless, we are constantly working on ways to further improve our packaging without compromising product safety. Our focus is on functionality, reducing the amount of packaging material, recyclability, tray sizes and unprinted cardboard packaging. To date, we have successfully worked on reducing the thickness of the material to the minimum required for machine processing. We have reduced the weight of the tray in the 190 x 144 x 50 mm format from 12 g to 9.5 g; we have also managed to reduce the film thickness from 60 µm to 37 µm.
Team & Society
Regionally rooted - internationally successful: That is HEIDEMARK. We are also happy to share our success and have a role model function as a leading company in the poultry industry. That is why we have a firm responsibility towards our employees, the regional environment of our locations and society as a whole. This lived responsibility determines the actions of our employees, who deal with customers, consumers, suppliers and colleagues in a responsible, honest and respectful manner.
Dialog culture
We are actively involved in various committees, associations, working groups and research projects in order to work towards our sustainability goals collaboratively and in an interdisciplinary manner. It is important to us to foster a culture of open dialogue with our stakeholders. With the launch of the staff app in early 2023, we aim to strengthen communication with all our staff. This will be in each individual’s native language.
Regional Engagement
HEIDEMARK makes annual donations to a variety of causes, and we are particularly keen to support local initiatives as we feel a strong connection to the Oldenburg Münsterland region. Whether it’s for grassroots sport, the volunteer fire brigade in Ahlhorn, the special needs school in Ahlhorn, the hospice in Cloppenburg or the flood victims in the Ahr Valley. We make these donations in the interests of the common good. And we do so not only financially, but also by donating food. Weekly donations to food banks are more important today than ever before, as they are seeing a significant increase in demand. For the past few years, we have replaced Christmas gifts for our business partners with donations.
Downloads
We publish sustainability reports on a voluntary basis. These reports provide information on the most important developments, projects, and progress in the area of sustainability. They demonstrate how we take responsibility and gradually integrate sustainability into our business operations.
