Keep track

Sustainability encompasses a number of different interpretations, but for the green industry it means protecting natural resources and employing production practices that promote environmental and financial stewardship. Big players in the market get a lot of attention regarding sustainability. But sustainable practices shouldn’t be left to only global corporations or big business. Small- and medium-sized businesses need to lead by example. Growers have several opportunities to reduce waste and protect resources, no matter the size of the company. Perhaps you’ve implemented a plastic recycling program, cut back on water runoff and changed your spray schedule to reduce pesticide waste. That’s a solid start. But what next?

Consider sustainability certification, which helps growers track all their output and usage, make better production and purchasing choices based on the tracked data, and holds the participating company accountable for business and environmental practices. This type of record keeping helps cut costs and boost profits.

Certification also allows participants to market their company as a sustainable practitioner with proof to back up the claims. The companies that provide certifications vary in their practices, but each has the same goal – protecting natural resources and providing an avenue to become better stewards of the environment.
 

SCS Global Services

VeriFlora certification is conducted by SCS Global Services, a global third-party certifier of environmental, sustainability, and agricultural product quality claims. Certification requires growers to meet strict environmental practices addressing water resource conservation, energy efficiency, ecosystem protection, and integrated waste management, as well as fair labor practices that ensure a safe, equitable and healthy work environment.

The VeriFlora certification provides two tiers of potential conformity. Tier 1 establishes the baseline performance for sustainable agriculture, while Tier 2 represents an even higher level of performance based on best management practices.

Greenheart Farms in Arroyo Grande, Calif., earned a VeriFlora certification in 2011. It was also the first horticultural operation dedicated to vegetable transplants production to become VeriFlora Certified.

“As we started the program, we could see that we were already in line with a lot of the practices that VeriFlora requires,” says Bill DeVor, chief operating officer at Greenheart Farms. “By going through this process, we were able to identify additional areas where improvement would be beneficial. The certification process has not only helped us in our quest for sustainability, it has made us an all-around better company.”

Eagle Creek Growers in Mantua, Ohio, also went through the VeriFlora program. Prior to certification, the grower installed a 300HP biomass boiler and a 50kw wind turbine.

“This was a natural next step for us in our continuing commitment to sustainability. I believe it adds value not only for our wholesale accounts but also the end consumer,” says owner Jill Cain. “VeriFlora provides us an independent, third party certification that consumers can trust.”

Floral Plant Growers in Denmark, Wis., was one of the first young and potted plant producers to go through the rigorous process.

“Given the choice, there are a growing number of consumers who prefer to buy from a sustainable source,” said Tom Mowbray, vice president of sales for FPG.

“There is an increasing awareness in the marketplace as it relates to sustainability. At Floral Plant Growers, we feel VeriFlora certification is an important aspect of our future growth strategy.”

Besides growers, VeriFlora also has a certification program for garden retailers, horticultural product manufacturers and wholesale distributors.
 

MPS

MPS is an international organization whose activities focus on encouraging sustainable practices in the horticultural industry. Through standards and benchmarking, growers can earn MPS certification at three levels – A, B and C with A being the most environmentally responsible. This certification scale is reviewed four time per year, and it’s based on the use of fertilizers, energy, crop protection agents, water and waste. The total usage of the company is compared to that of companies with similar cultivations. This approach to multiple levels of certification encourages growers to keep searching for environmentally sound production methods.

Certification also includes traceability procedures, a valuable tool in the case of a pest or disease outbreak along the supply chain.

MPS also offers a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. GAP is based on and officially benchmarked against the GLOBALG.A.P. certificate of supermarket organizations in Europe. GAP requires high-quality products that have been cultivated in a sustainable manner. Traceability is also part of GAP certification. Some of the GAP requirements include land/plot use, substrate, parental material, waste, safety/health/hygiene, storage locations, maintenance of equipment and resources, and application/use and stock of crop protection agents.

D.S. Cole Growers in Loudon, N.H., was the first North American grower to MPS-ABC and MPS-GAP certification.

Owner Doug Cole said the benefits of certification allow him to compare his company’s use of energy, pesticides, fertilizers, etc. with other growers. The ongoing certification process enables him to improve efficiency and to save money. He also sees potential marketing opportunities as more retailers and consumers seek out products from sustainable suppliers.

Becoming GAP certified allowed him to “go the extra mile,” by creating an emergency evacuation plan, improving the company’s first aid and CPR training, and updating its pesticide storage facility.

“These not only made our facility safer for all of our associates, it will better cover us in case of frivolous lawsuits. We feel that the improvements made for MPS-GAP demonstrate our commitment to our associates and our customers and are good measures to take to reduce liability and increase customer satisfaction,” Cole said.

CK Greenhouses in Cheshire, Conn., also received the MPS-ABC certification.

“It’s something that everyone should look at — to be more responsible,” said owner Charlie Kurtz said.

Kurtz and his team went through a year-long registration. Every month the grower documented its materials and energy use.

Athena Brazil, an unrooted cuttings supplier in South America, received an MPS-ABC certification. Athena Brazil ships its product to the United States, Europe and Asia. Owner Lucilene Anatriello said that Athena Brazil started with the MPS-ABC certification based on a growing number of requests by customers in North America.

“We want to be ready for the future; right now certification is still an option but this will soon change to a requirement from the market,” she said.

And Dümmen’s El Salvador location recently received the MPS-GAP certification.
 

Food Alliance

Food Alliance provides a sustainability standard which nursery and greenhouse producers may use to evaluate management practices, measure social and environmental performance, or seek voluntary third-party certification. The standard covers soil and water conservation; wildlife habitat and biodiversity conservation; adaptive management of pests, diseases and weeds; safe and fair working conditions; and operational efficiencies such as energy use and recycling.

The standard applies to greenhouses, and field and container operations for annuals, potted flowering plants, cut flowers, perennials, foliage plants and woody ornamentals.

The group provides a third-party audit process for certification. With certification, products grown and processed by these operations are licensed to use the Food Alliance Certified eco-label on qualified products.

Pacific Northwest nursery and greenhouse operations may choose to have compliance verified with Salmon-Safe criteria at the time of inspection, providing the option to promote Salmon-Safe certification in addition to Food Alliance certification.

Native Grounds Nursery in Brownsville, Ore., was the first to meet the Food Alliance standard in September 2012. The nursery specializes in natives, groundcover and hummingbird plants.

Owners Mike Nehls and Keli Gunning said they are deeply committed to sustainable management practices. To conserve water and preserve biodiversity they use micro sprinklers for irrigation and grow native plants, drought tolerant groundcovers and a selection of hummingbird attracting plants. More than 85 percent of their plants are native to the Pacific Northwest. Nehls dedicated about half of the property to wildlife habitat, including a large woodland buffer between the production areas and the nearby Calapooia River. Native Grounds Nursery also reduces carbon pollution by transporting plants to Portland nurseries using a delivery truck that runs on waste vegetable oil.

“When I heard about this sustainability certification for nurseries, it sounded like a good way to communicate our values to our customers,” Nehls said.

For more:
www.foodalliance.org
www.veriflora.com
www.my-mps.com