Our people strategy is the lever to bring Do Food Good to life
Interview with Bart Noppe, Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief Sustainability Officer
Ooigem, 1 September 2026 - When Bart Noppe speaks about Better Me, Better Us, Better Ways, he is not referring to an HR programme. He is talking about conviction. About coherence. About responsibility. Since taking on the role of Chief Sustainability Officer alongside Chief HR Officer earlier this year, he sees even more clearly how closely both worlds are intertwined.
“People sometimes think sustainability is about energy, water, or packaging. But sustainability starts with behaviour. With culture. With leadership. That is why HR and Sustainability belong together.”
Not two strategies, but one conviction
For Bart, Better Me, Better Us, Better Ways is not a separate people agenda alongside Do Food Good. It is its human translation. “Do Food Good is our promise to the market and to society. Better Me, Better Us, Better Ways is how we deliver on that promise internally. One cannot exist without the other.”
He refers to a fundamental insight that formed the foundation of the people framework:
“We often talk about our ambition to make healthy food tasty, easy, and affordable. But to truly make that happen, we must be willing to challenge ourselves along the way. In order to Do Food Good, we need to do things better. We first need to ensure that our people are stronger, more resilient, and more connected. Impact starts from within.”
The word better can, according to him, be misunderstood. “Better sometimes sounds like what we have today is not good enough. But that is not how I see it. Better is a promise. It is the promise that we want to take a step forward every day. That we do not stand still.”
And above all: “Better only becomes powerful when we do it together. It is no coincidence that our internal newsletter is called ‘Better Together’. That is not accidental. That is our belief.”
During the positioning exercise around the new people approach, the importance of that belief became crystal clear to him. “At the design table, one thing quickly became clear: there is not one single path to delivering Do Food Good. You cannot rely only on processes. You cannot focus only on individuals. And you cannot change culture with one single programme.”
What was needed was a parallel approach.
“We need to invest simultaneously in the individual, in the team, and in the way we work. These three reinforce each other. If one is missing, the whole system slows down.”
From this holistic approach, the new people vision emerged.
“Better Me, Better Us, Better Ways is not a slogan we invented. It is the logical conclusion of how we look at organisational development. Individual growth. Strong teams. Smarter systems. Together, that is our lever.”
He smiles. “And that, for me, is the essence of Do Food Good. Not being perfect. But getting better together every day.”
Better Me: “Growth is not a luxury, it is a condition.”
The first pillar, Better Me, is about personal growth, well-being, and ownership.
“We expect a lot from our people. Then we also need to give a lot in return. Development is not an extra: it is a responsibility of the organisation.”
This translates into initiatives such as Crop’s Academy, leadership development, digital upskilling, a stronger feedback culture, and attention to mental wellbeing. But for Bart, it goes beyond processes.
“Better Me means that, as an employee, you take ownership of your development. That you remain curious. That you dare to ask for feedback. That you want to improve; not because you have to, but because you want to contribute.”
He consciously links it to sustainability:
“Sustainable growth of a company is only possible if people remain sustainably employable. That, for me, is the essence of Better Me.”
“If our people grow, our teams grow. If our teams grow, our company grows. And if our companies grows sustainably, then we are truly Doing Food Good.”
Better Us: “Culture is what you do when no one is watching.”
The second pillar, Better Us, focuses on collaboration, trust, and culture. “No one succeeds alone. If teams do not collaborate well, if there is no psychological safety, then you can have all the strategy you want. It simply will not work.” Better Us is therefore also about belonging. About pride. About winning and learning together.
“We want people to feel connected to our mission. To understand why we do what we do. To feel proud of the work they deliver.” This is reflected in the translation of our five values into concrete leadership behaviour: Passion, Customer Focus, Intrapreneurship, Wholesome, and Sustainable.
“Values should not be posters on the wall. They need to be visible in how a leader gives feedback, how teams make decisions, how we deal with mistakes. We have specifically organised training around this to provide everyone in the organisation with these tools.”
He smiles: “I often say: culture is what you do when no one is watching. That is where we make the difference.”
Better Ways: “We need not only to work better, but also differently.”
With Better Ways, the focus shifts to systems, leadership, and structural embedding. “Better Ways is about maturity. About how we organize, how we follow up, how we make decisions.”
This includes, among others:
- clear people plans per department
- succession planning and talent reviews
- a transparent remuneration policy
- digitalisation of performance management
- leadership that connects strategy and values
“We need to move away from ad hoc. If we want to grow, structure is required. But structure should never become bureaucracy.
It must empower people.” As Chief Sustainability Officer, he sees an additional layer: “Every decision must be tested against one question: is this good in the long term? For our people? For our customers? For our planet? That is Better Ways.”
Leadership as a lever
A crucial element in the entire story is leadership. “Strategy never fails on paper. It fails in behaviour.”
That is why Crop’s will strongly invest in leadership development in the coming years. This was already reflected in the developed Leadership Vision example within our sustainability commitments.
“Leaders should not only deliver results. They must create autonomy, foster connection, and develop talent. When people feel autonomous, connected, and competent, motivation follows naturally.”
For Bart, it is clear:
“Leaders are carriers of culture. If they lead by example, the organisation follows.”
Join the people who Do Food Good
Externally as well, Crop’s wants to make this culture explicit. The employer branding campaign “Join the people who Do Food Good”, launching later this year, is an expression of that.
“That is relatively new for us. We do not really have a tradition of being very vocal. That probably has to do with our West Flemish roots: just act normal, that is already exceptional enough,” Bart laughs.
“We are not just looking for CVs. We are looking for people who want to contribute to something meaningful. People who want to be proud of what they do. We realised that we first needed to be clearer ourselves in our positioning before we could attract people with a specific Crop’s DNA.”
Or as he summarizes it: “Better Me, Better Us, Better Ways is not an HR slogan. It is an invitation. To everyone who works here and everyone who wants to.”
The long term
What does he hope to see in five years? Bart pauses for a moment. “I hope that by then, we no longer talk about ‘HR projects’, but that this is simply who we are.”
He concludes: “If our people grow, our teams grow. If our teams grow, our company grows. And if our company grows sustainably, then we are truly Doing Food Good. That is what it is all about.”
Read the full sustainability report, get excited and join our team!
Korneel Warlop