Florint, the International Florist Organisation, has approved a proposal to establish a new worldwide ‘Sustainable Florist’ standard, at its General Assembly on 16 October 2020. The standard, developed together with experts from SMK, sets a firm baseline in ecological and social responsibility for florists. Florint will roll out the Sustainable Florist guideline and certification system globally in the coming years.
The Sustainable Florist
Under the Sustainable Florist label, we have formulated crucial criteria for sustainable entrepreneurship. Flower production, packaging, terms of employment, working conditions, waste and water management, transport and energy consumption are the main sustainability themes.
Deciding on the criteria was done by Florint and its member organisations, in close collaboration with independent Dutch foundation SMK, experts in sustainable business management. The criteria are based on SMK’s successful Dutch sustainability scheme ‘Barometer Duurzame Bloemist’, which was implemented by Dutch florist association VBW over the last years.
The certification scheme works with three levels: bronze, silver and gold. For more detailed information, we refer you to the website of International Florist Organisation.
International rollout
The national florist organisations in all Florint’s member countries can now communicate and apply the Sustainable Florist guidelines to their member florists. The standard’s certification scheme and checklist will be translated to facilitate this. A professional certification organisation will verify compliance with the standard’s criteria.
The national florist organisations can localise and customise some of the criteria together with SMK, if needed. This flexibility ensures that the adoption of the Sustainable Florist standard will make optimal sense in every country.
Growth model
It has been agreed that the various national florist organisations can, via Florint, provide input into future criteria. This will ensure the Sustainable Florist can evolve with the times. Significant developments in the areas of product, people, terms of employment and sustainable business operations, will be reflected in updates to the standard.
About Florint
The International Florist Organisation, often shortened to Florint, is the global umbrella organisation supporting the florist associations of the world. It counts 23 florist associations as its members, and collectively represents over 100.000 florists.
Florint is a European Economic Interest Group for the florist sector and flower industry. An EEIG is a type of non-profit trade representative that realises its goals through international cooperation.
