MPS and Fairtrade signed a cooperation agreement at the leading trade fair for horticulture IPM Essen, in late January. The goal of the cooperation is to gain a better understanding of the climate impact and other environmental performance factors of ornamental growers who participate in both MPS-ABC and Fairtrade. The two parties will also be investigating how to make it easier to obtain both Fairtrade and MPS certification.
CEO Daan de Vries attended the trade fair on behalf of MPS and signed the agreement together with Annette Billharz, Global Product Manager Flowers & Plants at Fairtrade International. "This cooperation offers excellent opportunities to make sustainability trends among Fairtrade and MPS-certified companies transparent and to improve the efficiency of double certification, thereby making it quicker and easier for growers to become more sustainable", said De Vries.
The cooperation encompasses two main projects. Firstly, it encompasses data reporting from MPS-ABC to Fairtrade (with the consent of participating companies) in order to gain insight into the trends taking place in the use of crop protection agents, fertilisers and energy. Secondly, companies that are MPS-ABC and Fairtrade certified will be asked to have their footprint calculated using the HortiFootprint Calculator and can choose to share the results with Fairtrade. This will give these growers a better individual picture of their own footprint and will provide Fairtrade and MPS with more insights into broader trends.
The cooperation also includes two secondary projects, which are not part of the signed agreement, but which will be further explored in the future, namely investigate whether the lists of banned active substances of both organisations can be aligned more closely, and explore opportunities to have combined audits carried out by one certification body in the future or to enable partial or full mutual recognition of standards.
With this agreement, MPS-ABC and Fairtrade participants have moved towards improving the sustainability of their operations and will gain a better understanding of their environmental performance and ways in which this can be further improved.
For more information:
MPS
Jupiter 450 (Horti Business Center)
2675 LX, Honselersdijk
Tel.: +31 (0)174 - 615 715
Fax: +31 (0)174 - 632 059
info@my-mps.com
www.my-mps.com