Members of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) call for an intensified sector collaboration towards a more transparent and responsible floriculture sector in 2020 and beyond.
A collective effort to reach 90%
With over 50 active members, the strong FSI network is committed to double their efforts in the coming two years to reach the FSI objective of 90% responsibly sourced flowers and ornamentals. And with 9 new members in one year, more companies are joining and reporting their volumes of sustainably produced and traded flowers. The work and experience from previous years has allowed higher data quality and increased transparency on certified growers. And through projects and initiatives, members are committed to address key challenges on increased responsible sourcing, supporting widespread certification and responsible practices.
FSI Basket of Standards & Key topics
Social and environmental practices are evolving, markets are expecting more transparent and accountable value chains. In this light, new environmental benchmarking criteria are being added to the FSI Basket of Standards towards 2020. With IPM as leading principle, FSI will work with scheme owners and members towards implementation of robust record keeping and data analysis to compare and improve sector performance over time and space.
At the same time, FSI members are convinced that supporting and showcasing improvements in the field are key to making progress and inspire others to follow. Further collaboration and projects, co-funded by IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, will be addressing key environmental and social topics such as IPM, Water stewardship, Chain transparency, Gender and Living Wages. More opportunities for collaboration on initiatives were discussed during the meeting.
Launch of the FSI Beyond 2020 Strategy and Roadmap
The General Assembly marked the launch of the FSI Beyond 2020 Strategy & Roadmap. The role of FSI Members going forward will build on three strategic areas to move the sector forward: Specific and measurable indicators; Increased transparency on adoption of sustainable practices in the supply chain; and market incentives for continuous improvement.
In the coming two years FSI members and key stakeholders will be mobilized to discuss and pilot the new strategy and design the implementation.
New Trade representation at the Board of Directors
To accelerate the sustainability of the floriculture industry, FSI members have very much welcomed a second Director representing Trade in the FSI Board. With two Board representatives the FSI trade members emphasized their commitment to FSI and actively support the objectives. At the bottom left picture below, Mr Richard Fox (right), president of Union Fleurs and Mr Marcel Zandvliet (left), Director Marketing & CSR Dutch Flower Group after their appointment to the FSI Board.
For more information:
FSI 2020
fsi2020.com