Sustainable products: FSI2020 deadline is approaching

FSI, the initiative for making the international horticultural chain sustainable, has a concrete goal: in 2020, 90% of the flowers and plants grown or traded by the members is sustainable.

Consumers' demands for fair, reliable and sustainably produced flowers and plants keep increasing. Retailers, including the major international supermarkets, garden centres, DIY stores and e-commerce companies, are imposing more requirements in terms of sustainability.

Sustainable cultivation
The members of FSI have agreed that 'sustainable cultivation' means fulfilling the requirements for a sustainability certificate. For most growers, this translates into obtaining a MPS-GAP or GlobalGAP certificate.

At the IPM in Essen Royal FloraHolland and their trade partners will be discussing sustainable production. You are welcome to approach them there at any time.

Results in 2017
In June 2017 Dutch Flower Group, Royal FloraHolland, Royal Lemkes, Waterdrinker and FleuraMetz signed the 'Accelerate Sustainability and Transparency Together' manifesto. They have jointly organised several growers' meetings.

The organizers are very satisfied with the results achieved after the meetings:

MPS-GAP: 30 growers received their certificate and another 20 growers are working towards achieving certification.
MPS-ABC: 45 growers applied for this environmental registration.

This partnership with growers and the trade will continue in 2018. At the growers' meetings, certification will be actively stimulated. At the IPM Essen the organizers plan to actively approach growers to encourage them to get started on obtaining their sustainability certificate. At the FSI members' meeting, which takes place at IPM Essen, they shall share the experiences, results and follow-up steps of the partnership.

Source: Royal FloraHolland