An agricultural cooperative from the south of Slovakia which produces more than 10 million kilograms of high quality home-grown tomatoes per year. They have produced greenhouse tomatoes since 2006; while at present, they cultivate an area larger than 20 hectares. We don’t even have to mention their marvellous taste since almost everybody knows the Happy tomatoes of Rye Island. We’re talking about GreenCoop agricultural cooperative. What was the „When Hi-Tech unites with a tomato“ project all about?  

The GreenCoop cooperative aims to cultivate healthy crops in a healthy way. They use solely modern greenhouses which are heated by geothermal water and equipped with the latest technologies, such as the UV filter cyclic cleaning of the irrigation water. For the past 10 years, the GreenCoop has been trying to restore abandoned geothermal wells, from which hot water often uncontrollably runs directly into the environment. For that reason, in 2015 the cooperative began a revitalization process of old greenhouses in Dunajská Streda. They dismantled 40-year-old greenhouses, cleaned an old farmstead and revitalized the whole surrounding area and one geothermal well. Thanks to these changes, they are now able to grow 3.000 tons of high-quality tomatoes instead of the original production of 800 tons. As a result, the energetic efficiency of production has been increased by 375%.

What progress did the company make in 2016 and for what eco-improvements can we look forward to in the near future? We interviewed the Chairman of the GreenCoop, Zsolt Bindics.

What did it mean for you to receive the 2015 Via Bona Slovakia Award in the category of Green Company?

Receiving the Award in the Green Company of the Year category changed mainly our self-awareness. We began to see ourselves as an organisation whose duty is to make a continuous effort to decrease the ecological footprint of our products.  

Where have you made progress over the past year?

We were in the spotlight a bit more within the market, we reinforced our brand and we received an international Pentaward for the packaging design of the Happy tomato. We also managed to enlarge our cultivated landby 25%. So, to sum up, we had a really good year.

What sustainable or responsible activities keep you busy at the moment? What is your highest priority for the future?

Our highest priority is to improve the working conditions of our employees. Equally, we would like to decrease the ecological requirements of the packaging by using recycled packing materials. At the moment, we are developing a project to make packaging and delivery of our tomatoes more effective. Indeed, we would like to use our resources more efficiently not only during the cultivation but also during the post-harvest processing. 

Are you doing your business fairly? Nominate your company for the 2016 Via Bona Slovakia Awards

The Pontis Foundation once again accepts nominations for the prestigious Via Bona Slovakia Awards. Companies can nominate themselves with their responsible and ethical projects for 2016 until 20 January 2017. All important information can be found on the website  www.viabona.sk.