European Growers Move Forward With Floriculture Sustainability Initiative

Floriculture Sustainability Initiative WebDuring a General Assembly on Jan. 26 at IPM Essen in Germany, members of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) announced their support for improvements in the sustainable floriculture sector. Members strengthened their determination to achieve the FSI ambition of 90% flowers and pot plants sourced by FSI members from responsible sources by 2020.

Every year during IPM, FSI members come together to discuss the latest industry developments. The focus this year was on the Basket of Standards, responsible sourcing, and the approach on key sustainability topics in floriculture.

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International Sourcing Reference

The FSI Basket of Standards includes environmental and social certifications/schemes that are validated through independent benchmarking. FSI members are using this basket to measure their sourcing performance. With the addition of two social and two environmental standards/schemes, the 2017 Basket contains 14 standards and schemes related to responsible sources. Besides using it for their own reference, FSI and its members will actively promote the Basket of Standards as an international reference point for responsible sourcing in the supply chain.

During the General Assembly, the next round of FSI member projects were launched, including an ambitious approach on the key topics of working conditions, water use, agrochemicals, and supply chain transparency. With these four new projects kicking off, FSI members will work toward further integration of IPM; increasing knowledge on pesticide use; promoting wetland development and water stewardship; and improving women empowerment through gender-sensitive management. The projects are co-funded by the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and are contracted for 2017-2019.

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Beyond the responsible sourcing strategy and the projects’ work, FSI members Hivos, BSR Her+Project, and Partner Africa presented their collaborative approach on gender equality. The Working Group on Gender supports and aligns the efforts toward empowering women workers. By closely working together with the producer and exporter organizations EHPEA (Ethiopia) and KFC (Kenya), positive impacts are directly delivered at the farm level.

Election of Retail and CSOs Board Representatives

The General Assembly also elected the new board representatives for Retail and Civil Society. FSI Ordinary members unanimously approved the election of Leon Mol (Albert Heijn) as Retail Representative and Benjamin Gatland (Partner Africa) as Representative of the Civil Society Organizations.

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