Posted on octubre 25, 2019 by Monica Vera
It is known that, although flower producers count on several certifications that are recognized worldwide and which cover the different aspects of sustainability, they will often be subject to the whim of someone in the chain who, for different reasons (many of which are of a non-technical nature) requires that they are evaluated by what he/she considers an “appropriate” standard or list from his/her point of view or knowledge of sustainability.
Often, these requirements are well below what the producers have already achieved with their current certification processes, generating expenses for the new evaluation, adjustments to the already standardized internal processes, and more work for the personnel that are in charge of their various audits.
It is increasingly evident that, in the world of certification standards, new initiatives appear or are being promoted by different markets that aim to become regional or global references.
This generates pressure on producers who must comply with the new requirements in order to avoid being at a disadvantage compared to other producers in the already very competitive flower market. This happens mainly to non-European or non-American producers given that there is a presumption that they do not meet “adequate” sustainability standards.
With this in mind, in this new installment of our series of technical comparisons between standards, we compare the social criteria of Florverde Sustainable Flowers and GLOBALG.A.P + GRASP based on the Sustainability Map engine. https://sustainabilitymap.org/standard-compare/136,255
The Sustainability Map, an initiative from the United Nations’ International Trade Center collects information from more than 200 standards worldwide, and allows for the online comparison of the contents of the different standards in order to give the user an idea about the robustness of the standard in query.
Florverde Sustainable Flowers and GLOBALG.A.P + GRASP
GRASP is a voluntary module of GLOBALG.A.P and stands for: “GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice”. It aims to evaluate social practices in the production line, addressing specific issues related to the health, safety and welfare of workers. The following graph shows the percentage of compliance with the requirements covered by the standards:
The following graph shows the percentage of compliance with the requirements related to human rights and labor practices:
In the table below you can find the specific criteria addressed by these two standards related to social issues:.
Don’t get confused, Florverde Sustainable Flowers, with 22 years of experience, is the most robust standard, specifically aimed at the production of flowers and ornamentals, covering social, environmental, labor and quality aspects of the processes and the products. When compared to other standards, you can easily understand why Florverde Sustainable Flowers is the seal only for the best.
You may also be interested: Comparisons between Florverde Sustainable Flowers and Rainforest Alliance Certified (https://florverde.org/blog/comparaciones-entre-florverde-sustainable-flowers-y-rainforest-alliance-certified/)