Translations Best practice in French version Best practice in English version

MOULINS WAAST offers qualitative products that respect the milling tradition

1. Organizational Governance

Strategy and organization

Context

A century-old, family-owned company specialized in the transformation of 11 cereals, Moulins Waast produces nearly 15,000 tons of finished products per year. Focusing on innovation, the company has since the 1970s adopted a strategy of sustainable development in its operations: application of sustainable agriculture, integration of activities within its territory and modernization of the company to reduce its environmental impact.

Co-directed by Emile, Michel and Emmanuel Waast, the company devotes most of its production to the major international food groups. The founding values and principles are perfectly summarized by Emile Waast: “The earth is fertile. Its fruits nourish humanity. They keep us healthy and in good shape. From this manna, if we exclude the invisible and undesirable, what remains is the ‘comestible and beautiful.’”

Objectives

  • Establish new methods for agriculture.
  • Ensure the long-term viability of the activity by offering traditional and innovative products that meet consumer needs.
  • Address constraints in the agro-food sector while following regulatory developments.
  • Develop strategies for territorial anchoring to preserve the potential and know-how of farms and agro-food businesses.
  • Modernize the company to reduce its environmental impact.

APPROACH

CSR is part of the company’s DNA and can be found in the founder’s words in 1909 about the “right to life of future generations.”
A pioneer in reasoned agriculture, the company launched the association Blé Citoyen along with INRA, Institut Pasteur and Bonduelle in the 1980s. It is also at the origin of a charter to establish new methods for reasoned agriculture while avoiding systematic treatments.
Its products are respectful of consumers: Moulins Waast adheres to the club des entreprises Bio, an initiative of the Regional Council designed to reinforce the organic foods sector.
As much as possible, Moulins Waast favors short logistics. The company is a member of Saveurs en Or , an association devoted to the development of local products.
It is engaged in a pilot project with EDF to renovate its roofing with photovoltaic equipment and to optimize its electricity production.


The charter created by Moulins Waast defines the general principles of sustainable production and is based on the shared commitment of farmers and refiners. The objective is to apply care and treatments only when absolutely necessary: “ using less treatments and spending less for the same gains”. A national association today, it is now called the CRC (Culture Raisonnée Contrôlée).
As of 1975, the company has marketed organic cereal products. Its raw materials come from organic farming or the principles of reasoned agriculture: the application of technical specifications based on optimal nutritional criteria. The company also develops products adapted to the needs of consumers to improve well-being (allergies, athletes, etc.).
The pilot project with EDF calls for the installation of 52 m² of photovoltaic modules and 86.4 m² of synthetic photovoltaic membranes to produce electricity monitored directly by digital display.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

  •  2012 - 2014: Revenues +6%
  •  Sustainable relations with customers thanks to the certifications obtained: FSSC 22000, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Saveurs en Or, Eco Cert, Made in France, SEDEX, Kosher
  •  The sale of organic products represents 6.5% of revenues
  •  Moulins Waast exports 25% of its production directly and indirectly

Benefits

  •  Preservation of natural and human equilibrium.
  •  Farmers’ observations: improvement of cereal harvests, without loss in quantity.
  •  Co-founder of the CRC (Culture Raisonnée Contrôlée)
  •  Raw materials of French origin, including 35% from Nord-Pas de Calais
  •  Solar panels: 48,000 kW of electricity produced since installation and 25 T of CO2 avoided.
Workforce
22 salariés (2015)
Turnover
5,6 millions € (2014)
Country
France

MOULINS WAAST

40 Rue du Moulin
59246 Mons-en-Pévèle

www.moulinswaast.fr/

Contact

Emile Waast, co-gérant, 03 20 64 43 29, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mise à jour le 29/06/2016

Creative Commons Attribution This work by Réseau Alliances – World Forum Lille is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.