Last edition of the IPM Essen in January, MPS and Fairtrade signed a cooperation agreement. The cooperation is aimed at better understanding the climate impact and other environmental performance of floriculture growers participating in both MPS-ABC and Fairtrade. It further explores how it can become easier to obtain both Fairtrade and MPS certificates.

Daan de Vries (CEO) was present on behalf of MPS and signed the agreement together with Annette Billharz, Global Product Manager Flowers & Plants at Fairtrade. "The cooperation offers great opportunities to provide insight into sustainability trends at Fairtrade- and MPS-certified companies and improve efficiency of dual certification, enabling growers to achieve sustainability faster and easier," De Vries said.

The collaboration includes two main projects:

- Data reporting from MPS-ABC to Fairtrade, obviously with the consent of participating companies, to gain insight into trends taking place in terms of consumption of crop protection products, fertilisers and energy.

- Companies that are MPS-ABC and Fairtrade certified are asked to have their footprint calculated through the HortiFootprint Calculator and can choose to share the data with Fairtrade. In this way, the grower gains more insight into their own footprint, and Fairtrade and MPS more insight into wider trends.

In addition, the collaboration includes two smaller projects:

- Investigating whether it is possible to make the lists of prohibited active substances of both schemes more similar.

- Looking at whether it is possible in the future to have combined audits carried out by one Certifying Body or enable (partial) recognition between standards.

With this agreement, MPS-ABC and Fairtrade participants can go one step further in making their businesses more sustainable. They will gain greater insight into their environmental performance and ways in which it can be further improved.