HORTICERT

Our Impact

By certifying sustainable peat substitutes and growing media, HORTICERT supports peat reduction and thus accompanies the growing media industry on its way to a largely peat-free future.

Why HORTICERT Certification Matters

… to the World

Environmental and social impacts of global supply chains are often overlooked, largely due to weak regulations and enforcement. To address these challenges, the United Nations introduced the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), providing a global framework for sustainable development. Yet, progress toward these goals remains uneven across countries and sectors.

Certification systems like HORTICERT play a vital role in bridging this gap. As an independent and credible verification mechanism, HORTICERT certifies that peat substitutes and growing media products meet clearly defined sustainability standards throughout the supply chain. This empowers businesses and consumers to make more responsible, transparent choices.

… to Companies

As awareness of climate change and sustainability grows, so does the demand for certified products — also within the horticultural sector. HORTICERT helps companies to meet this demand by verifying that supply chains comply with strict standards for sustainability and traceability.

By promoting transparency from raw material sourcing to final distribution, HORTICERT enables companies to align with global sustainability goals, enhance their credibility, and gain a competitive marketing advantage through a clearly demonstrated commitment to responsible practices.

… to Customers

Over a third of our environmental impact stems from the products we purchase. That’s why sustainable consumption begins with informed decisions — also when it comes to growing media. By choosing HORTICERT-certified sustainable options, you’re actively helping to reduce environmental harm.

The HORTICERT label supports customers to identify growing media that contain sustainable peat substitutes. Since 2025, you can find HORTICERT-certified products at retailers like toom Baumarkt.

The HORTICERT-Seal Makes Sustainable Choices Simple

  • It indicates that the product meets the HORTICERT sustainability and traceability standards, verified by an independent certification body.
  • It indicates that the used peat substitutes were produced in a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable way.
  • It indicates that the final product contains a minimum of 25% HORTICERT-certified peat substitutes. A transparent disclosure of the exact percentage of certified peat alternatives in the final product will be added soon.
  • It optionally provides information on how much greenhouse gas emissions were saved by using peat alternatives compared to a 100% peat-based reference mix.

Next time you’re buying growing media, choose products with the HORTICERT seal — and turn every purchase into a step toward a greener future.

Global Impact

Since its launch in 2024, HORTICERT has issued 15 certificates — and the number continues to grow. Certified companies are located in Belgium, Germany, India and Sri Lanka, covering a diverse range of operations. These range from small coir farms and plantations to first collectors of raw materials, processing units, and growing media mixing plants to the final product refiners. Among the currently certified materials are coir, wood chips, bark and green compost peat substitutes.