MPS and Fairtrade are teaming up!

The aim of the cooperation is to gain a better understanding of the climate impact and other environmental performance factors of growers participating in both MPS-ABC and Fairtrade. The two parties will also explore how to make it easier to obtain both Fairtrade and MPS certification.

This collaboration offers excellent opportunities to make sustainability trends among Fairtrade- and MPS-certified companies transparent and improve the efficiency of dual certification, making it faster and easier for growers to become more sustainable.

The collaboration includes two main projects. First, it includes data reporting from MPS-ABC to Fairtrade (with the consent of participating companies) to understand trends in the use of plant protection products, fertilisers and energy. Second, companies that are both MPS-ABC and Fairtrade certified will be asked to have their footprint calculated using the HortiFootprint Calculator and can choose to share the results with Fairtrade. This gives these growers a better individual picture of their own footprint and provides Fairtrade and MPS with more insight into broader trends.

The cooperation also includes two secondary projects, which are not part of the signed agreement, but will be further explored in the future, namely investigating whether the lists of banned active substances of both organisations can be more closely aligned, and exploring possibilities for future combined audits to be carried out by a single certification body, or enabling partial or full mutual recognition of standards.

With this agreement, MPS-ABC and Fairtrade participants have gone a step further in improving the sustainability of their operations and will have a better understanding of their environmental performance and ways in which it can be further improved.