Sustainability starts in the substrate
13.-22. März 2026
HORTICERT is participating in the nationwide ‘Peat-free gardening’ campaign week!
The initiative, organised by the BMLEH in cooperation with the FNR, draws attention to the importance of peat-free substrates. HORTICERT will be represented at the kick-off event on 5 March in Berlin with a specialist presentation and will be providing information about the certification system on site at participating DIY stores on several days. More info here.
HORTICERT supports the sustainable production and processing of growing media – also known as potting soils or substrates – and their components, as well as their traceability along international supply chains. In addition, HORTICERT verifies the carbon footprint of certified products.
You’ve spotted the HORTICERT Seal? Click here & learn what’s behind it!
The HORTICERT Seal makes it easy to see at a glance whether a growing media product contains certified, sustainable peat substitutes. Since early 2025, you can find the Seal on selected products, such as at toom Baumarkt DIY stores.
The HORTICERT Seal…
- confirms that the used peat substitutes are produced in a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable way
- confirms that the product contains at least 25% HORTICERT certified peat alternatives
- provides a transparent disclosure of the exact percentage of certified peat alternatives in the final product (coming soon)
- provides optional information from the manufacturer on how much greenhouse gas emissions were saved by using peat substitutes compared to a 100% peat-based reference mix
Make a conscious choice: Look for the HORTICERT Seal next time you buy potting soil – and actively contribute to a more sustainable future with your purchase.
Get started today
Our System Documents, Fee Structure, flyers and more can be found under Documents.
Once you register with HORTICERT, you will soon get access to all preparation materials, Audit Checklists, and more resources in the Client Section.
What our System Users say about HORTICERT:
“As partner of HORTICERT, toom Baumarkt and Gebrüder Mayer highly value their certification process as a means to safeguard social, ecological and economic aspects of peat substitutes. The rigorous traceability and sustainability standard resonate with our commitment to produce sustainable and climate-friendly products without peat. With HORTICERT, we can verify our value chain and thus credibly support our customers in making sustainable purchasing decisions. “
Dominique Rotondi
COO toom Baumarkt GmbH
“It was a natural consequence for us to actively accompany and support HORTICERT right from the start. HORTICERT brings us significantly closer to our most important corporate goal: the increased use of sustainable and climate-friendly peat substitutes. Thanks to our successful HORTICERT certification, we can transparently demonstrate our CO2 footprint in substrate production to professional gardeners and set new standards for the industry. At the same time, the certification of our raw materials increases their acceptance in the market — along the entire value chain.”
Ulrike Fockenberg
Head of Sustainable Product Development at Gramoflor GmbH & Co. KG
“As one of the first pilot partners, we have supported HORTICERT from the very beginning and recognize certification as a crucial building block in the substrate industry for ensuring transparency in ecological, social, and economic sustainability criteria. The HORTICERT certification enables us to transparently verify the carbon footprint of our professional and hobby substrates, allowing our customers to actively engage in our sustainable corporate strategy.
We consider HORTICERT a benchmark for sustainability criteria and the traceability of peat substitutes and substrates — a true asset to the industry!”
Jonas Velz
Sales at EIFEL-HOLZ AG
Known from:
Peatland Protection is Climate Protection
Globally, peat is still the most widely used raw material for potting soils and growing media. However, peat extraction in drained peatlands is associated with high greenhouse gas emissions.
Peat is created by the accumulation non- or barely decomposed organic material in the absence of oxygen. This process occurs in intact, water-saturated peatlands. Intact peatlands bind six times more carbon in the soil than forests in the same area. Therefore, they are crucial for climate protection.
The certification system is developed and implemented by Meo Carbon Solutions GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH), represented by the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR).