Floriculture Sustainability Initiative Works Toward 2020

Jennifer Duffield White

The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) has started making headway toward their goal of having 90% of their members’ internationally traded flowers and pot plants sustainably produced by 2020. The FSI, which is open to the floriculture industry, is trying to tackle sustainability issues in the supply chain and make sense of different floriculture standards. Current projects include sustainability issues in Europe, Africa and South America, such as controlling residues, water and workers’ rights issues.

They’re also working on a portal called the Equivalency tool, which will compare different standards and certification schemes in an objective way. Given the number of options out there, it should help everyone if the similarities and differences between options are transparent and easy to understand.

FSI Executive Director Jeroen Oudheusden emphasizes that, “By investing and working together in a pre-competitive way the FSI members take action and build responsible business practices for the benefit of the floriculture sector.” GT