Case study sustainable Part II: Reaching out to smallholders in and Argentina

By Dr Tania Moreira Braga, Dr Aileen Ionescu-Somers and Professor Ralf W. Seifert, IMD International Foreword Contents

A tipping point happens when a critical mass One of the arenas that is rapidly moving 1.0 Executive summary 4 of people begin to shift their perception of toward a tipping point and which an issue and take action in a new direction. o ers exemplars of creative partnerships is 2.0 Introduction 8 that of commodity market transformation. As I look across the global landscape, I feel This is the collective e ort by businesses, 3.0 Combining E orts in Kenya 12 that we are approaching a tipping point NGOs, labour unions, and governments to 3.1 Laying the Groundwork with the Farmer Field Schools 13 concerning global sustainability. It is catalyzed restructure the production and distribution 3.2 Combining the Farmer Field Schools with Capacity Building by at least three important realizations by systems of commodities to be more for Certifi cation 15 business, government, and civil society: sustainable, while building broad market 3.3 Certifying Kenyan Smallholders 17 The fi r s t is a realization that the world is demand for sustainable products. If done 3.4 Roll-out Challenges 17 fi nite and that a growing population with well, these improved markets will deliver 3.5 Potential for Replication 18 a higher ambition for living standards will large-scale social and environmental outcomes inevitably lead to a world which will be that advance the millennium development 4.0 Building from Scratch in Argentina 20 resource and carbon constrained. goals and strengthen the economic viability 4.1 Capacity Building for Sustainable Tea Growing 21 of entire commodity sectors and the leading 4.2 Harvesting Results 23 The second is the realization that to solve companies involved. 4.3 Challenges and Potential for Replication 25 the challenges for this future world we need systems solutions. We cannot solve individual A recognised catalyst of this kind of market problems in silos. The connections between transformation is the Dutch Sustainable energy, climate change, water, food, urban Trade Initiative (IDH). IDH’s mission is to infrastructure and the imperative of upscale and accelerate the mainstreaming functioning ecosystems are very clear. of sustainability in global commodity chains. Through innovative public-private partnerships, A third realization is that no part of society IDH joins the forces of multiple stakeholders can solve this on its own. Individually, to build and execute programs that tackle governments, businesses, and civil society social, ecological, and economic bottlenecks to lack the technology, fi nancial resources, and commodity market sustainability. In addition management skills to build a sustainable world IDH acts as a knowledge broker, capturing on their own. Yet collectively, we already and sharing best practices in supply chain have – or can develop – everything that is sustainability. needed for this large-scale transformation. As a result, there is growing interest in new This booklet is part of a series of IDH- types of public-private partnerships that supported case studies that focus on the jointly fi nd solutions to these issues. In such “know-how” of commodity market transfor- partnerships, the skills and resources of both m ation. These studies are fi lled with practical the private sector and civil society are insights, wisdom, and time-tested advice from combined with the legislative and regulatory those deep in the trenches of driving real power of governments. change in global markets. I encourage you to take these lessons learned and innovative ideas straight to the heart of your own work. By doing so, we will take another powerful step toward a tipping point for global sustainability.

Björn Stigson President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 3 Commodity value chains around the world are increasingly stressed; some even face severe and dire circumstances. This is due to myriad social, Chapter 1 environmental and economic challenges linked Executive summary to the fi nite nature of natural resources and rapidly growing populations. ‘We convinced the farmers to adapt good

These pressures threaten not only the raw By reading part two of this case study, agricultural practices material supply for key industries such as business executives and other stakeholders food & beverage and textiles, but also the will learn from Unilever’s journey in multiple livelihoods of tens of millions of people and ways. The company, recognising that no through their own the natural resources they depend on. For this single entity can solve the complex issues reason, companies, NGOs, and governments around conversion of the tea value chain experiments on the are actively seeking solutions to render on its own, entered into a partnership with commodity value chains more sustainable. the Rainforest Alliance. Through Rainforest Alliance certifi cation of tea plantations, the fi eld. This soon led Tea – production, processing and consumption partnership has accelerated a transformation – is one of the commodity value chains in to sustainable Unilever tea products. Part two question. Part one of this case, the fi rst of of the case study focuses on the very di erent to increased yields IDH’s Market Transformation case series, experiences of Unilever “on the ground” in documents the strategic evolution of a Kenya and Argentina. The lessons learned groundbreaking initiative by Unilever, the from building the partnerships in each country and to extra income Anglo-Dutch food & beverage company, and the “win-win” outcomes for the players to make its own tea value chain sustainable. involved are carefully extracted and reported for them.’ This initiative started with the popular Lipton in each case. and PG Tips brands in specifi c countries and is gradually rolling out in other regions of The Kenyan and Argentinian case stories are Peter Mbadi, Agriculture Manager, the world. excellent examples of how companies, by carefully building multidimensional business Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) cases for sustainability and strategic execution plans that account for the specifi c challenges of sustainability and partnerships, can grasp opportunities and forge new markets. It shows how companies can become fi rst movers and leaders in contributing to more sustainable business models, stimulating multiple local environmental, social and economic pay o s while simultaneously ensuring the fi nancial and longer-term sustainability of their core business.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 4 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 5 Most interestingly in this case, the moves To accelerate momentum towards the made by Unilever have had a knock-on e ect requisite “sustainability tipping points” of contributing to a “tipping point” for across commodity value chains, it is vital sustainability in the tea sector. As a direct that such cases enter mainstream business result of Unilever’s initiatives, several other thinking, refl ection and learning. To attain major companies and brands followed in this objective, parts one and two of this case, Unilever’s footsteps and are certifying their and forthcoming “market transformation” own tea supply chains. This has happened best practice examples, will be converted to without the loss of business benefi ts to a series of teachable cases used in the core Unilever, implying that the business rationale curriculum of IMD business school, other was founded on more than a “fi rst mover” academic institutions and in company competitive advantage. The case stories training programs. This case is already an of Unilever’s engagement in Kenya and integral part of a Masterclass Workshop for Argentina document, on a local level, key mainstream managers in companies linked parts of a tangible framework for this “systems to commodity value chains. This is conducted solution” to the complex sustainability by IMD’ s Center for Corporate Sustainability dilemmas around tea production. Although Management annually in Switzerland and excellent and leading examples of certifi cation the United States in partnership with the initiatives have existed for some time, this Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform may be the fi rst time that such a partnership (SAI Platform) and the Dutch Sustainable will succeed in impacting an entire commodity Trade Initiative. value chain far beyond the activities of the actual company involved.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 6 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 7 In May 2007 Unilever publicly announced its goal to source the tea in all Lipton teabags sold globally from Rainforest Alliance Certifi edTM farms by 2015. Chapter 2 The supply-chain and marketing roll-out was planned Introduction to be unfolded in two phases; Phase 1 being complete when all of the tea in Lipton Yellow Label tea bags sold ‘Our experience in Western became Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed.1 shows that even small

To ensure an accelerated supply-chain roll- Reaching out to smallholders during Phase 2, improvements in out of certifi ed tea during Phase 1, Unilever although signifi cantly more challenging, was and the Rainforest Alliance established a not negotiable. Jagjeet Kandal, global tea priority list of large estates in a few selected sustainability manager at Unilever, explained: smallholder agricultural countries, while working concurrently to ‘We source tea from many thousands of expand certifi cation to smallholders. smallholder farmers worldwide. To ensure practices can increase a long-term supply of certifi ed tea, Working with large estates was e cient not smallholders must be on board. Having only because of obvious scale advantages – worked with them for decades we know yields, long-term income which allowed the rapid conversion of large their challenges. We set up partnerships with areas and large volumes of tea within a short local and national governments, academia time span – but also because it was e cient and NGOs to help tea smallholders to security for families, and cost e ective. Marc Monsarrat, Rainforest implement sustainable practices. We know Alliance manager for East Africa and South from experience that even relatively small Asia, recalled: improvements in smallholder agricultural local biodiversity ‘Large tea estates are professionally practices can go a long way on yield managed and have competent technical sta . increase, long-term income security for and farmed landscape After a single training session, the sta could families, local biodiversity and farmed start implementing changes required for landscape conservation.’ certifi cation. They quickly learned how to conservation.’ use available tools to improve management systems. They were able to train growers to work more e ciently in the plantations. Jagjeet Kandal, In fact, it was about fi ne tuning existing practices rather than carrying out major Unilever overhauls. In a few months, we could stir su cient changes to bring them to compliance level with standards2 required for certifi cation.’

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 8 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 9 Yet expanding certifi cation to a large This document predominately describes and fragmented base of tea smallholders Unilever’s e ort to reach out to smallholders required intensive work on capacity-building in Kenya and Argentina. It contrasts both and technical assistance, as well as a more enablers and challenges in Kenya and complex auditing structure. Growing Argentina due to the respective societal capability to match the speed required by and business context as well as to the specifi c the markets and gaining access to countries roles taken by key value chain players and where the Rainforest Alliance and the other stakeholders in these two countries. Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) had little previous experience was a signifi cant challenge. The Rainforest Alliance had to identify suitable local partners as trainers and technical advisors, and then use scarce human and fi nancial resources to train them. A second network of technical assistants responsible for keeping track of the progress of farmers on the ground had to be created and qualifi ed through local partners. In addition, the Rainforest Alliance/SAN had to concurrently put in place a structure for the certifi cation (auditing) function, identifying and training local/regional teams of auditors to assess compliance with standards. The cost-e ectiveness of the link between the two functions – training and auditing – was not a given. The institution could train farmers on how to bring their practices to certifi cation level, but it could not be sure they could reach compliance with the SAN standard and pass the certifi cation audit.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 10 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 11 Unilever’s work on good agricultural practices with smallholders in Kenya had already started before the company’s commitment to source its tea from Chapter 3 Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed farms. Combining E orts in Kenya ‘Distributing certifi cation and the In 2006 Unilever had partnered with the 3.1 Laying the Groundwork with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Farmer Field Schools resultant benefi ts in an extension program to promote good In March 2006, KTDA and Unilever (through agricultural practices as a tool to foster its Lipton brand) began work on the ground sustainable tea production. This program with smallholders. It was supported by across di erent tea was based on a series of guidelines developed funding from Unilever, the UK’s Department by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya and for International Development – DFID (from Unilever’s own sustainable agriculture code. 2006 to 2009) and The Dutch Sustainable producing regions Trade Initiative – IDH (from 2009 to 2011). Expertise came from Wageningen UR, ETC Box 1. Smallholders in Tea Production East Africa and the Tea Research Foundation was a key factor in Kenya of Kenya. Pilot projects were initiated, using In Kenya, the world’s biggest tea the Farmer Field School (FFS)4 approach, to exporter, smallholders accounted for provide tea smallholders with the motivation, in securing e ective over 60% of tea production in 2009. skills and technical assistance for improvement The tea sector supports, in a direct of production and implementation of more and indirect way, approximately 10% sustainable farm management practices. roll out.’ of Kenya’s population. Farms are typically less than half an acre, but some can be up to 3.5 acres. Dave Boselie, Farmers usually grow tea in parallel Wageningen UR with other crops such as maize, vegetables and beans, in addition to livestock. However, family livelihoods heavily rely on tea. Although tea prices have been kept at a low level for the past three decades,3 the risk of complete crop failure is low and tea remains a crucial cash crop for smallholders.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 12 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 13 The fi rst pilots took place in 2006 and Or, as one farmer put it: Box 2. Unilever partners in the commodity markets. It forges enterprising involved 120 farmers at four KTDA buying ‘At fi rst we found it hard to understand; FFS initiative alliances between governments, companies, centers.6 Wageningen UR and ETC East challenging. For example, in the plucking KTDA is the second largest exporter of trade unions and social organizations Africa trained KTDA’s technical extension trial, they used a long stick to fi nd the tea black tea in the world and is responsible and is funded by the Ministry of Foreign o cers and assistants to take the role of bush table height and we did not know why. for 62% of all tea produced in Kenya. A airs of the Dutch Government. facilitators. Farmers were able to prioritize Now that we do it, we can see the results.’8 The company provides management content and decide on how it should be services for the production, processing Wageningen UR (University and Research delivered. Within a year they explored a The results, monitored in the fi eld by and marketing of black tea to over half Centre) is an international university and range of issues such as plucking intervals, Wageningen UR,9 proved encouraging in a million smallholders through 59 farmer- research centre working in the area of tipping-in height of bushes after pruning,7 terms of improved yields per hectare, better owned tea factories. A typical factory “Healthy food and living environment.” agro-ecology, safe use of agro-chemicals, product quality, adoption of better agricultural processes the tea grown by a group bookkeeping, using trials on the ground, practices, biodiversity conservation and of between 5,000 and 20,000 growers. ETC East Africa is a not-for-profi t fi eld visits, short talks, debate, storytelling reduced soil loss. The project evaluators It o ers farmers services such as technical consultancy organization working with and other activities. also reported positive results on farmers’ assistance, provision of farming inputs the public sector and civil society on issues empowerment, knowledge improvement and assistance with fi nancing, logistics such as agriculture and natural resource At fi rst, farmers were reluctant to take part, and group cohesion. and marketing. management, health, decentralization, partly because they were averse to change local governance, service delivery and and partly because they perceived the The Department for International aid-management. proposed changes as extra work and were 3.2 Combining the Farmer Field Schools with Development (DFID) is the part of the uncertain about the benefi ts. However, the Capacity Building for Certifi cation UK government that manages Britain’s aid The Tea Research Foundation of Kenya FFS method was tailored to this challenge. to poor countries and works to eradicate (TRFK) promotes research on issues related The farmer-centered approach allowed the In 2007, following its decision to convert extreme poverty. to tea growing – and to other crops and groups to focus on what growers wanted to certifi ed sustainable tea, Unilever began systems of husbandry associated with tea to learn – instead of the traditional approach to look for cost-e ective ways of getting The Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative throughout Kenya – such as productivity, of focusing on what extension trainers wanted Kenyan smallholders on board. Working (IDH) is a multi-stakeholder platform quality, suitability of land, environmental to teach. The atmosphere at the meetings with KTDA to make sustainable agriculture supporting the acceleration and upscaling conservation and appropriate technologies was joyful; participants sang, danced, joked an integral part of the ongoing extension of sustainability within mainstream for tea processing and value adding in tea. and prayed together. These aspects were program was the natural way to go. collectively e ective in driving farmers’ motivation and softening change-averse Unilever bought approximately 40% of KTDA mindsets. Most importantly, the experiential total production. Therefore, being able to Unlike more traditional directive and top- Or, as explained by Monsarrat on the approach allowed farmers to witness real supply the volumes of certifi ed tea required down approaches of technical assistance Rainforest Alliance Frog Blog: results of proposed crop management by Unilever on time was a market imperative that provide farmers with instructions on ‘Farmer Field Schools are a kind of practices, making benefi ts tangible while for KTDA. what to do, when and how, the FFS approach classroom without walls, where farmers reducing misperceptions of the amount of is experiential and bottom-up. Groups of come together every fortnight to learn and extra work. Peter Mbadi, agriculture manager Since FFS had proved to be an e ective tool farmers gather together regularly, assisted test new growing techniques on their own at KTDA, explained: in fostering changes in the way smallholders by competent facilitators, to fi nd solutions farms. It’s a participatory process guided ‘Getting farmers to volunteer to participate managed their crops, Unilever and the to improve their practices and to share by agronomists, where farmers experience in the Farmer Field School was not Rainforest Alliance decided that it would learning from the trials they carry out in the benefi ts of better crop husbandry straightforward. They were apprehensive also be a good tool to deploy the capacity- the fi eld. Dave Boselie, senior researcher for themselves and discuss social issues because it sounded like a lot of work and the building component to certifi cation. sustainable supply chain development such as gender empowerment or benefi ts were not easy to grasp. We started Combining the generic FFS training curriculum at LEI Wageningen UR, explained: HIV/AIDS prevention.’5 with the less resistant ones, working on with more specifi c certifi cation criteria was ‘The FFS approach perceives farmers as small changes that lead to quick results in seen by the two organizations and their local technical experts and enables them to terms of increased yields and quality, and partners as a cost-e cient way to reach understand their situation and learn how it therefore to extra income for the farmer. out to individual farmers. The training of can be improved. The trainers assist farmers The best way to convince them to adapt FFS facilitators and the monitoring of results to use indigenous knowledge appropriately good agricultural practices was through were the responsibilities of Wageningen UR so they are more motivated to improve their own experiments on the fi eld.’ and ETC East Africa. The Rainforest Alliance performance.’ was responsible for training the trainers on the implementation of certifi cation practices and for managing the certifi cation/auditing process with its SAN partners.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 14 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 15 The FFS curriculum was expanded to include In 2008, the fi rst groups concluded their FFS 3.3 Certifying Kenyan Smallholders 3.4 Roll-out Challenges other aspects of farming and to cover and certifi cation training and the initiative the social, environmental and economic could count on communities of farmers By December 2009, some 12,000 smallholders Transitioning from the upscaling phase to requirements for certifi cation such as capable of demonstrating practices, sharing had become Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed, a full roll-out of the capacity-building aspect ecosystem conservation, wildlife protection, new skills and showing the results in their having succeeded in making the social, of certifi cation through the FFS was not worker rights and safety, water and soil own fi elds to other farmers. economic and environmental changes without obstacles. conservation, agrochemical reduction, necessary to achieve compliance. The farmers decent housing and legal wages for workers. In 2009, KTDA initiated the roll-out phase supplied the Momul Tea Factory Company, In 2009, a short-term lack of external FFS meetings were also used as a vehicle of the project, aiming at stretching the owned by KTDA. It was not only the fi rst resources14 caused disturbances in the to increase farmers’ awareness of the price scope of the FFS to achieve: group of smallholders in Kenya to meet activities of external experts and put premiums10 paid by Unilever for certifi ed tea. I) the implementation of 6 FFS groups per Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed standards but additional constraints on operations. factory, in all 59 factories; and also the largest single group to reach this Nevertheless, KTDA was able to carry out New groups were created in four factories II) 21 Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed factories status worldwide. the roll-out of the FFS model. According and the FFS project was expanded to involve by 2011 (corresponding to approximately to Boselie: another 600 farmers. The following year, half of KTDA’s tea production area). Resources to fi nance the purchasing of ‘The intrinsic benefi ts of the Farmer Field the partners decided to use the scaled-up personal protective equipment and other Schools were strong enough to motivate project as a platform for certifi cation of A new funding scheme was put in place to farm productive investments, such as farm KTDA to keep expanding its reach the four factories serving 38,000 farmers. support the accelerated expansion of the FFS equipment, dairy animals and poultry, came even under external funding constraints. Transitioning from pilot projects to the roll- reach. The activities for training the trainers from a micro-fi nance institution created It demonstrated the potential of the out with almost 40,000 farmers was largely – that is, KTDA’s training sta at factory level by KTDA in August 2009. Greenland Fedha approach and the existence of a self- made possible due to the organization, and lead farmers at community/buying Ltd was created as a subsidiary of KTDA propelling force in this type of technical experience and strong network of center level – received fi nancial support from as a non-deposit taking institution, in order assistance provision.’ relationships of local partners, such as ETC IDH. Wageningen UR applied for a grant to provide fi nancial services to low-income East Africa. In addition, KTDA had qualifi ed from the Agricultural Counselor of the Dutch households in the tea sector12 and help curb Nonetheless, the self-propelling potential people in their local extension teams who Embassy in Nairobi. Unilever committed to the high cost of borrowing by o ering lower would not be strong enough to bring understood the requirements for international cover the factories’ costs of certifi cation/ interest rates. certifi cation capacity-building to the required certifi cation and at the same time knew audit until they started receiving benefi ts scale if it counted solely on KTDA resources. how to engage with local farmers. from bringing certifi ed tea to the market.11 Monsarrat described how certifi cation led Although very e ective, the FFS participatory to multiple benefi ts:13 approach had been relatively costly and time However, scaling up to this many smallholders On the operational side, the organization ‘On average, farmers taking part in the FFSs consuming. The availability of co-funding was not without challenges since balancing introduced a third layer of extension agents: saw their yields increase by 5%-15% in just from international institutions such as IDH the expectations and priorities of partners the lead farmers. Winnie Mwaniki, regional two years – a huge success. The factory has and the DFID was crucial to make the project with di erent organizational cultures required projects manager in East and South Africa for distributed 140,000 tree seedlings to the feasible. It was therefore inevitable by late lengthy discussions and conscious fl exibility. the Rainforest Alliance, explained their role: farmers, thus ensuring that streams and 2010 that there would have to be a rethink Boselie explained: ‘Lead farmers set a good example for their rivers are protected. After removing thirsty about the capacity-building approach, ‘We, the international partners, wanted to neighbors, help with the training and internal eucalyptus trees (not native to Kenya) from as Monsarrat explained: optimize logistics to take advantage of all inspections. They also work to improve the edges of streams, they found that many ‘We have been very cost e ective on the available resources. So, it made sense for their own environment; protecting the rivers, previously dry streams are beginning to training side, using an ongoing funded us to concentrate the upscaling phase in getting the water cleaner, planting trees fl ow again. Farmers are happy, as they are project as a springboard. Our focus has one region, thus reducing trainers’ travel to improve the local micro-climate.’ producing more and better tea after the been to run the training in a way that can and saving time and money. But for KTDA, training and are able to sell it at higher prices.’ be continued in the years to come. However, the criteria for choosing regions and we have not yet analyzed what that will factories were broader than operational As of February 2011, fi ve factories were require institutionally and how it can be optimization. For them it was not about the certifi ed in Kenya and another nine were done if and when the co-funding is no longer cheapest solution but rather maintaining being audited. available. And we need to do so soon.’ political goodwill and support for the program. KTDA understood that distributing the benefi ts and revenues of certifi cation across di erent tea producing regions was a key element to secure its e ective roll-out. We trusted their judgment and worked with factories in di erent regions.’

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 16 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 17 Furthermore, the organizations driving the specifi c certifi cation schemes. As a general On the one hand, a fast roll-out to Working with a large base of farmers on process were already questioning whether principle, KTDA has divided the di erent smallholders in other countries could not an individual basis was a major challenge, the intensity and group-focus approach of certifi cation schemes across its factories.15 rely solely on the strength of local farmers’ as it would require quickly and e ciently the FFS was the only way forward. Boselie Nonetheless, there is some overlap between responsiveness to market incentives o ered organizing them in functional groups. observed: certifi cation schemes and there are defi nitely by the global company. As demonstrated Emulating the creation of organizations ‘Would a much lighter version of instruction important overlaps with other initiatives, such by the Kenyan case, it would depend to similar to KTDA in other countries was an and training do the job? Although the as the FFS and the IDH Tea Improvement a great extent on the Rainforest Alliance’s even bigger challenge under Unilever’s participatory approach has proved e ective, Program.16 KTDA is monitoring what each capacity to fi nd local partners able to stretched deadlines to fully convert its tea we don’t know if a lighter version of the certifi cation scheme brings in terms of quickly and e ectively reach out to a large supply-chain. It would not only require FFS approach would be su cient to achieve economic and fi nancial benefi ts, and base of smallholders and engage them in extensive time and resources, but also our purpose just as well. This is a crucial market penetration. How can we attribute the certifi cation process. substantial structural changes on existing question, but we are still in the early stages observed successes to one other scheme value chains. of learning by doing. We are thinking about or intervention when certifi cation schemes On the other hand, a partner similar to KTDA alternatives, such as combining group focus and interventions overlap? Providing the was not easy to fi nd, since the organization The roll-out of certifi cation in Argentina was on the actual training of farmers with the proof of principle17 is important to get was able to quickly achieve scale and a good example of the potential for reaching use of information technology for the projects and co-fi nancing going. For future engage farmers in the certifi cation process out to smallholders in countries in which monitoring of results and technical feedback.’ improvement, we need to understand where due to a quite unique combination of factors, mechanisms facilitating access to smallholders the biggest impacts are coming from.’ as described by Monsarrat: were absent. In Argentina, certifi cation roll- In addition, because participation in the FFS ‘As the second largest black tea exporter out had to be built “from scratch” since there was voluntary, the factories and producers in the world, it has a strong position in the was little organization in the tea value chain, that had engaged so far were the ones that 3.5 Potential for Replication tea value chain. Its organization around no track record of extension work with were less resistant to change, those who factories, each having several thousand smallholders and signifi cant issues regarding were most willing to experiment and innovate. As of August 2010, Kenyan smallholders farmers, already provided the needed scale quality and productivity. Therefore, it might be the case not only that were producing 22.4% of their total volume for a quick roll-out. Being a farmer-owned late followers and laggards could require a of tea in Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed farms.18 organization was defi nitely a plus for completely di erent approach than the one It was an unprecedented achievement engagement. Its well-organized production taken with the front runners, but also that compared with other crops. Edward Millard, and marketing model is not easily found the speed of conversion could signifi cantly sustainable landscapes director at the among smallholder organizations. In addition, slow down. Rainforest Alliance, highlighted the two because of its good relationships at major enablers of success for smallholder governmental level in Kenya, KTDA was On another issue, Monsarrat voiced certifi cation in Kenya: able to unlock political barriers. Rainforest Alliance’s concerns that the level ‘Momentum for certifi cation in tea has grown of turnaround of extension sta could put rapidly in Kenya owing to two major factors. It is defi nitely more challenging in other knowledge transfer and training e ciency First, a big market player, Unilever, helped countries where smallholders operate on a at risk: us to send clear signs that certifi cation had one-to-one basis (and not as a group) with ‘There is a danger that lessons learned will become a market reality, and since we were factories. It is generally a big struggle around be lost since good extension o cers and working in a country where tea exports play the world to organize a large number of assistants are leaving the project in search a crucial role in its economy, the business small producers in a competitive manner. of other career opportunities. The whole case was clear from the start. Second, Even where smallholder associations do exist, process could slow down if new extension there was an unusually e cient mechanism they are not as strong and do not provide agents “re-invent wheels” at a critical facilitating access to smallholders, KTDA. such comprehensive services as KTDA does.’ moment when the number of groups The economic and political strength, to be trained is growing at a fast pace.’ professionalism and engagement of this local partner were major assets.’ Boselie raised other crucial challenges to be faced in the years to come: The replication dilemma was a crucial one ‘Today we are facing new questions. KTDA for Unilever and the Rainforest Alliance. covers various end markets and has been involved in di erent certifi cation schemes, such as Fairtrade, Organic, UTZ certifi ed and the Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed, so as to be able to answer to customers’ demands of

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 18 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 19 Tea is produced in Misiones province in the north-east section of Argentina, close to the border with Brazil, in the heart of the largest remaining area of the Atlantic Chapter 4 Forest in South America. Building from Scratch in Argentina ‘Certifi cation is the main driver of the Misiones tea is considered to be of medium- 4.1 Capacity Building for Sustainable low quality but it has the unusual property Tea Growing economic revival of retaining its clarity when poured over ice. It has secured its place in the global tea The certifi cation roll-out with tea producers market as a key component of iced tea blends. in Argentina started in late 2007 through one in the region. Unilever uses tea from Argentina mainly of the SAN partners, Imafl ora. Imafl ora had in Lipton Ice Tea sold in the US market. carried out a diagnostic of tea plantations in Argentina in early 2007, following its New agricultural In 2009, approximately 57% of the tea participation in the auditing of Unilever’s produced in Argentina went to the US and Kericho Tea estate in Kenya, the fi rst 40% of the black tea sold in the US market Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed tea farm. practices help avoid came from Argentina.19 The fi ve major tea primary processing companies – Las Treinta; Casa Fuentes; Don Basilio; El Vasco; Koch deforestation of Tschirsch – were responsible for more than Box 3. Imafl ora half the tea produced that year. Imafl ora (Institute for Agricultural and Forest Management and Certifi cation) As of 2009, Argentina had approximately is the partner organization responsible critically endangered 20 6,500 small tea growers, or colonos. Their for the Sustainable Agriculture Network family-managed farms were typically less than certifi cation in Brazil (since 1995) and rainforest.’ 50 acres (or 25 hectares).21 Tea contributed Argentina (since 2007). It is a non- to half of the family’s income. The other profi t organization working to encourage half came from herb mate production or conservation and sustainable use complementary incomes from annual crops of natural resources and to promote Marina Piatto, or animal production. Tea roasters in Misiones social benefi ts in the forest and Lead Auditor, Imafl ora estimate that there are over 9,000 families agricultural sectors. growing tea, exporting around $100,000 annually, making it the third most important income in the region, after pulp or wood and tobacco.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 20 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 21 Rolling out tea certifi cation in Argentina As learned in Kenya, the feasibility of As in Kenya, getting tea producers on board Once the groups were trained and started to represented a substantial challenge since certifi cation roll-out depended to a large was challenging. However, scaling up went implement changes on their farms, the group the process had to be started from scratch. extent on the commitment to certifi cation faster than expected once the initial resistance managers monitored developments in the The key success factor in Kenya, the presence of a strong local partner. Thus, as a fi rst step had been overcome. Piatto explained: fi eld on a regular basis, provided technical of a strong smallholder organization, was to certifi cation roll-out, Imafl ora brought ‘Certifi cation is a big step for producers, assistance, helped with group meeting not present. In addition, the organization of the leading local tea companies on board. especially for farmers like those in Argentina facilitation and made the liaison between the tea value chain was loose and there were The NGO discussed with the tea companies who had no previous experience with certifi cation groups and tea companies. signifi cant issues regarding quality and the impact that Unilever’s decision to fully good agricultural practices, environmental Equipment and infrastructure were fi nanced productivity to be addressed. supply Lipton with tea from Rainforest or social programs. They had to work with smallholders’ own resources, or Alliance Certifi ed farms would have on their simultaneously on many di erent issues and through cash advances given by the local The completely mechanized coarse plucking, business. Although they were competitors, invest in farm equipment and infrastructure. tea factories,25 since neither governmental done mainly with high-clearance tractors, Imafl ora was confi dent they would realize Initially, they were suspicious and perceived funding nor microcredit was available. allowed for reduced costs but had a negative that it was in their common interest to it rather as a punishment, or as some sort of impact on tea quality and plantation join forces to make certifi cation happen. meaningless hard work. Few of them saw it density.22 In addition, other issues such Piatto explained: as an opportunity. Thus, we decided to start 4.2 Harvesting Results as low dissemination of relevant technical ‘Tea companies in Misiones had no choice by working with a few small groups, made knowledge, information and skills on tea regarding the certifi cation of their supplying up of the less resistant colonos. The others In July 2008, the fi rst group of tea growers production, poor tea breeding and absence farms. Once Unilever’s decision was made, took a “wait and see” attitude. However, the in Argentina was certifi ed.26 By the end of of integrated pest and weed management the only alternative to certifi cation was group managers worked with the fi rst groups the year, another six groups – representing hindered improvement in tea quality. losing their main customer. It was a no-return of farmers to create a visible positive 90 farms, nearly 200 smallholders and 16,000 road. We knew that, and we used the power experience and deliver quick wins that were acres of tea plantations – were certifi ed. Productivity and quality were also issues of the market signal sent by Unilever to easily demonstrated in the fi eld. In this way, By December 2010, a total of eight groups in primary processing, since only 40% convince the local tea companies to join after the fi rst year, suspicious farmers saw were certifi ed, involving 230 producers in of the 100 tea factories in Argentina used forces to fi nance and implement the training themselves witnessing the productivity gains 480 farms. well-developed technology and had component of certifi cation.’ achieved by their neighbors. They also saw streamlined operations.23 premium prices being paid for certifi ed tea A partnership with the local tea companies and became more motivated. Thus, they In addition, the organization of colonos was established, providing funds and human changed their view toward certifi cation. was very poor. Although most of them were resources for training and implementation Once they came on board, they started associated with cooperatives, these were monitoring. Imafl ora began by training the putting a lot of e ort and energy into getting poorly organized and provided few services group managers – agronomists, social agents certifi ed. They also brought along neighbors – basically negotiating prices and quantities and biologists hired by the tea companies. and relatives.’ with tea factories. They also did not have The group managers were then made any kind of support from the government responsible for the actual rolling-out of or research agencies and their relationship training with the colonos. They started Table 1. Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed groups in Argentina, December 2010 with tea processing factories was loose. by organizing the colonos into groups There was no track record of work in health based on their location and buyer company. and safety or soil and water conservation. The groups carried out intense preparations, Company (group) name Total farms Conservation Tea Plantation The vast majority of colonos did not receive developing a comprehensive diagnosis, (or operations) Area (ha) Area (ha) any training24 and no formal mechanism a streamlined work plan and fulfi lling all existed for the dissemination of good the necessary conditions to start the AsoLT (Grupo Las Treinta Obera) 67 162,39 837,28 agricultural practices. Marina Piatto, lead implementation of changes in their farms. Casa Fuentes (Grupo Colonos) 52 267,35 465,70 auditor at Imafl ora, remarked: Some of the groups took almost a year to Casa Fuentes (Chacras Própias) 6 1938,00 1178,00 ‘The colonos did not have access to technical get ready to implement the agricultural, Don Basilio 56 470,00 1277,00 services and their approach to farming environmental, social and heath and safety El Vasco 155 792,68 1835,45 can best be described as “sitting down and practices required for certifi cation. Koch Tschirsch 59 157,61 581,23 watching the bushes grow; then jumping Koch Tschirsch – San Vicente 49 230,82 520,72 on the tractor and picking the leaves.” Las Treinta 36 117,60 950,03 They had no experience in adopting good agricultural practices.’ Total: 480 4,136,45 7645,41

Source: Imafl ora, 2010

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 22 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 23 The positive results of adopting the Major changes with regard to the As a result, their husbands, fathers and 4.3 Challenges and Potential for Replication agricultural practices required for certifi cation occupational health of the colonos were sons started to identify their potential to were quickly seen in the fi eld as improved also achieved, for example, using personal bring contributions to the family economic As of December 2010, the roll-out of productivity and quality. Piatto exemplifi ed: protection elements when applying activity. We got many testimonials from certifi cation in Argentina had achieved ‘One of the tea companies worked with agrochemicals in a systematic way and women, expressing how grateful they su cient scale to fulfi ll Unilever’s expectations farmers conducting soil analysis and using those agrochemicals more responsibly. were for being invited to participate in the regarding the conversion rate to Rainforest fi nancing fertilization. Before that, tea Other benefi ts were improved access to meetings. They also told us that they felt Alliance Certifi ed tea. However, as major tea growers in the region did not use fertilizers potable water, the incorporation of safety more valued and included since they started brands around the world were also converting and had never done soil analysis. The results systems during mechanical harvest, and to play an active role in their family business.’ to certifi ed tea,29 demand was expected to of a single annual application of fertilizers increased knowledge in terms of recognizing grow fast. Future challenges for certifi cation were astonishing. Some farmers doubled and handling medical emergencies. Changes also took place in the relationships roll-out in Argentina relate to expanding their productivity.’ between local tea companies and colonos, certifi cation to the colonos that supply Changes in the social organization of colonos and among the companies themselves. smaller tea companies, which have a lower Victor Tschirsch, manager at Koch Tschirsch,27 were impressive and gave rise to important capacity to fi nance training and support wrote on the Rainforest Alliance blog:28 intangible benefi ts described by Piatto: Because companies were o ering benefi ts implementation. ‘We observed that the farms under ‘The colonos appreciate participating in such as medical care and technical assistance certifi cation increased their yields notably, group work and having access to training to fulfi ll certifi cation requirements, stronger Another challenge concerns the likely beyond the contributions made by the for the fi rst time in their lives. They told me bonds were created between them and the arrival in Argentina of other tea certifi cation climate. They also su ered fewer pest that before certifi cation they felt abandoned colonos. In addition, since the colonos schemes, such as Fairtrade, Organic and attacks and as a result the farmers had less and that now they are feeling included and started to build loyal relationships with their UTZ Certifi ed. It could represent a burden work to combat pests (and lower costs, valued. Through certifi cation they have certifi cation groups, they became less to smallholders in terms of adapting practices of course). Furthermore, the quality of the become visible to the society of the tempted to sell their tea to other companies. to di erent requirements and keeping up raw material has improved notably, which country they live in. They have been invited The colonos also perceived concrete benefi ts with cumulative documentation work.30 has led to an improvement in the quality of to talk at events; they have been interviewed from the improvement in their relationships the black tea that has received the approval and appeared in regional, national and with the local tea companies. The roll-out of certifi cation in Argentina of international buyers. international TV and radio programs. brought some interesting learning regarding They now perceive themselves as pioneers As the local companies continued to work the potential for replication in countries where It is also undeniable that favorable and are proud of that. They have gained together on other pre-competitive issues, the level of organization of smallholders is environmental impacts have contributed a lot of self-esteem in the process.’ a series of e ects was seen such as: increased low. It shows that although the factors that to the economic aspects mentioned above: collaboration in advocacy for governmental enable quick upscaling are not universal, covered soils, conserved and recovered An area where impacts of certifi cation support in technical, scientifi c and commercial some good practices can be transferred, ecosystems, biodiversity and active fauna were clearly seen was gender relationships. issues; higher e ciency in practical matters, such as training trainers, working through contributing to pest control, responsible Colonos lived in very traditional communities such as the processing and management and strengthening local organizations, agrochemical use, better cultural techniques, and women were kept out of commercial of obligatory paperwork for agro-chemicals empowering and actively including women integrated pest management, fertilization or work-related relationships. Imafl ora used registration; reduced costs in building and building the necessary good relationships programs based on soil analyses and sound the certifi cation process as an opportunity common infrastructures for treatment and with local tea companies and other key waste management are the foundation to promote gender diversity and empower fi nal destination of agro-chemical packaging stakeholders, including governments. of the economic benefi ts.’ women to have an active role in the economic waste; and the creation of local and regional life of their properties (and communities). fi re brigades. Piatto described certifi cation of tea producers Piatto recalled: in Argentina as a driver of broad changes: ‘I was probably the fi rst woman to ever ‘It is on these farms that Imafl ora has seen enter a tea factory in Argentina. At the the biggest impact of certifi cation in the beginning, there were only men present whole of South America since we started in at the meetings we organized with the 1996. Certifi cation has been the main driver colonos. Then we asked them to bring of the economic revival that is now taking along the whole family to future meetings. place in the region. And the new agricultural We explained that women had a very practices are defi nitely helping to avoid important role to play in the certifi cation further deforestation of a critically process. For example, after the training we endangered rainforest.’ gave women the responsibility to produce and keep the documentation required for certifi cation. We also put them at the center of the work we did on health issues.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 24 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 25 Figure 1: FFS Contributions and Expenditures (% of total) – From 2006 to 2009

DFID 45%

Lipton 35,5%

KTDA 19,5%

DFID Lipton KTDA

Wageningen/ETC 15,1% Management costs Management costs and salaries* 27,3% and salaries** 17,5% Management costs and salaries, project assistants 6,8% Domestic travel 3,5% International travel 1,4%

Domestic travel 6,7% International travel 2,1% Native tree seedlings to improve farm biodiversity 0,6% Cars and computers 5,5% Seedlings 1,4%

Materials and Cars and computers 1,3% demonstrations 3,2%

Farmers visits 2,8%

Training and meetings 1,9%

Leaf and soil analysis 1,8%

O ce materials/telephone 1,0%

Communication materials 0,2%

Source: Unilever. Brochure “Farmer Field School project: Growing sustainable tea in Kenya.” 2009

* including time of management and sta spent directly on the project ** including project manager and fi nancial management

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 26 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 27 References

1 A case study detailing the decision- 8 Source: Brochure “Farmer Field School 16 IDH works with major tea brands/ 22 High-quality tea is obtained through making process and the roll-out strategy project: Growing sustainable tea in Kenya.” companies such as Unilever, Sara Lee fi ne plucking – manually plucking the of Unilever sustainable tea is available Published by Unilever. 2009. and Twinings and with certifi cation bud, the second and the third leaves at http://www.duurzamehandel.com/ bodies to help accelerate the embedding only (the rest of the leaves should not en/idh-publications. Refer to Braga, T., 9 Hiller, S., Ondureo, D.D., and de Jager A. of sustainability in the tea sector, by be included). In coarse plucking, more Ionescu-Somers, A., and Seifert, R. Sustainable Tea Production. Report 2008- supporting the identifi cation and leaves can be included and harvesting Unilever Sustainable Tea, Part I: 078, LEI Wageningen UR, The Hague. successful addressing of the biggest can be mechanized, but it results in Leapfrogging to Mainstream. IDH, 2010. February 2009. bottlenecks and through the dissemination of medium- to low-quality. Mechanized of best- and innovative practices. It also harvesting also requires a greater 2 In order to get the Rainforest Alliance 10 According to KTDA, the premium provides fi nancial support for the roll-out distance between bushes, decreasing Certifi edTM green frog seal, farms need amounted to $0.10 per kg as of January of innovative capacity-building programs plantation density. to comply with the Sustainable Agriculture 2011. In January 25, 2011, the average that lead to certifi cation and impact Standard developed, managed and price of top quality Kenyan tea auctioned on the Millennium Development Goals. 23 Information provided by the Agriculture owned by the SAN – Sustainable in Mombasa was $3.83 per kg. Ministry of Argentina, available at Agriculture Network – a coalition of 17 Proof of principle is a demonstration http://www.alimentosargentinos.gov.ar. leading conservation groups that links 11 Once factories started receiving a price in principle of a theory – or causality responsible farmers with conscientious premium for certifi ed tea, they would relation – which verifi es its pertinence 24 Information provided by the Agriculture consumers. take on the cost of certifi cation and and usefulness. Ministry of Argentina, available at of maintaining internal control systems. http://www.alimentosargentinos.gov.ar. 3 For information on tea market 18 Estimated by Marc Monsarrat, fundamentals refer to Braga, T., 12 According to KTDA, 81% of the Kenyan Rainforest Alliance. 25 Repayment took place after the harvest, Ionescu-Somers, A., and Seifert, R. population has no access to banking in instalments agreed beforehand Unilever Sustainable Tea, Part I: services. 19 Information provided by the Agriculture between factories and smallholders. Leapfrogging to Mainstream. IDH, 2010. Ministry of Argentina, available at 13 Post on February 4, 2010 at the Rainforest http://www.alimentosargentinos.gov.ar. 26 Tea was also the fi rst crop in Argentina 4 The FFS is a participatory training Alliance UK Blog. Available at http:// to become Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed. approach aimed at helping farmers to thefrogblog.org.uk/2010/02/04/marc- 20 Colonos are descendants of European build knowledge and skills for sound visits-francis-a-kenyan-tea-farmer. immigrants – mainly German, Hungarian, 27 Koch Tschirsch is one of the fi ve main crop management decisions. It was fi rst Polish and Italian – who arrived in the tea processing companies in Argentina. used in 1989 by the FAO in a project in 14 The funding from DFID came to an end region during the three fi rst decades of . before the funding from new sources the 20th century. The majority of them 28 Post on May 7, 2010 at the Rainforest became available. lived in relatively closed communities, Alliance UK Blog. Available at http:// 5 Marc Monsarrat’s post on February 4, according to the culture/traditions thefrogblog.org.uk/2010/05/07/look- 2010 at the Rainforest Alliance UK Blog. 15 For example, among the 59 factories, brought by their ancestors from their into-your-tea-cup-and-see-the-world-in- http://thefrogblog.org.uk/2010/02/04/ 20 are to process tea from farmers countries of origin. the-golden-liquid. marc-visits-francis-a-kenyan-tea-farmer. certifi ed by the Rainforest Alliance. The choice of the 20 factories was made 21 Half of the area is used to cultivate black 29 For further information on the market 6 Buying centers are where farmers take taking into consideration the need to tea. The other half of the area is divided transformations that took place following their tea to be collected by KTDA. match KTDA’s o er with Unilever demand between herb mate (also grown as Unilever initiative refer to Braga, T., – in terms of both quality and quantity – a commercial crop), cattle, eucalyptus Ionescu-Somers, A., and Seifert, R. 7 “Tipping-in” is a crucial moment in the for Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed tea. (for subsistence use) and conservation Unilever Sustainable Tea, Part I: plant’s growth where the height of the areas with remaining fragments of Leapfrogging to Mainstream. IDH, 2010. tea bush is set, with major implications Atlantic Forest. for plant productivity. 30 As of March 2011, UTZ and Rainforest Alliance were discussing how they can collaborate more e ectively on the ground as to minimize the audit burden to smallholders.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 28 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 29 Authors Acknowledgements

Dr Tania Braga ([email protected]) This case was developed with inputs from is the Research Associate/Project Manager the sta of both Unilever and the Rainforest for the Center for Corporate Sustainability Alliance. We gratefully acknowledge the Management at IMD. She combines a solid contribution of: academic background in economics with Michiel Leijnse, Jan-Kees Vis, successful hands-on experience in project Mark Birch and Jagjeet Kandal, Unilever management. She has co-authored several and of cases studies and articles around process Edward Millard, Mercedes Tallo, and product innovations for sustainability Winnie Mwaniki and Marc Montsarrat, management. the Rainforest Alliance.

Dr Aileen Ionescu-Somers Many thanks to: ([email protected]) directs the Center Dave Boselie, Wageningen University, LEI for Corporate Sustainability Management at Marina Piatto, Imafl ora IMD, an applied research and learning center Peter Erik Ywema and Emeline Fellus, focused on helping companies to integrate SAI Platform social and environmental issues into their Peter Mbadi, Kenyan Tea Development corporate strategy. She is an expert on Agency corporate sustainability management and Victor Tschirsch, Koch Tschirsch has coordinated several large scale research Barrett Brown and Jordy van Honk, IDH projects on, for example, the business logic for corporate sustainability in the food and Publisher beverage industry. The Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH). Copyright © 2011 by IMD (www.imd.ch), Dr Ralf W. Seifert is Professor of Operations IDH (www.dutchsustainabletrade.com) Management at IMD and holds a tenured and SAI Platform (www.saiplatform.org). professorship at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). His primary research and Design teaching relate to operations management, Dietwee, ontwerp en communicatie supply chain management and technology (www.dietwee.nl) network management. Professor Seifert directs the Mastering Technology Enterprise Reproduction (MTE) program at IMD and the Chair of This publication may be reproduced in whole Technology and Operations Management or in part and in any form for educational (TOM) at EPFL. or non-profi t services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. IDH would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source.

This is an IDH publication about one of the projects of the Tea Improvement Program (TIP) of IDH. In the TIP the following major tea brands, NGOs and certifi cation bodies work together: Unilever, Sara Lee/DE, Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging van Ko e en Thee, Oxfam Novib, Solidaridad, Tropical Commodity Coalition, Ethical Tea Partnership, Twinings, Utz Certifi ed, Rainforest Alliance.

Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina — 30 This title is part of the IDH Case Study Series, published in August 2011. Another title in this IDH Case Study Series is: • Unilever sustainable tea, Part 1: Leapfrogging to mainstream • The IKEA experience in moving towards a Better Cotton supply chain: Making sustainability work

IDH also has a Best Practices Series, whose titles include: • Marketing sustainability • Sustainable sourcing among SME’s • Beyond auditing • Sustainable trading • Retailers and sustainability • Sustainable sourcing and procurement

Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (Initiatief Duurzame Handel) Utrecht, The Netherlands www.dutchsustainabletrade.com o [email protected]