OUR SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA
The choice of all suppliers, as well as people management and production technologies
in our supply chain, are made accordingly with our Sustainability Indicators.
We developed these indicators as a guideline to follow at every stage of our activities.
Indicators have been developed by our experts based on FAO's SAFA indicators,
already used by many governments and companies around the world
to assess the sustainability of agricultural and food supply chains.
Good Governance
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1) Sustainability Management Plan
All subjects involved in our production chain have a plan aimed at minimizing risks and pursuing sustainable management in a holistic approach, which include the good performance of all areas of sustainability (environment, people and economy). Furthermore, this indicator verifies that this management has brought the desired results. An ideal plan must be written, but it can also be remarked orally during each operational phase with the team.
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2) Responsibility
Every farmer offers full transparency, as it provides Fairy Wings Exports - as well as all its stakeholders like customers and suppliers - with truthful and correct information regarding all the processes concerning its business. This is made possible through the constant maintenance of specific records and documents.
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3) Conflict Resolution
An active and empathic participation with all stakeholders is necessary to prevent and resolve any conflicts that may arise in the daily performance. This refers to customers and suppliers but also final consumers, local communities, trade associations or local institutions.
Social Well-Being
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1) Safety in the Workplace
All workplaces - the field, the laboratory or the warehouse - must comply with certain safety and hygiene requirements. The risk of possible accidents must be mitigated by safe and periodically overhauled facilities, as well as the possibility of quickly reaching hospitals or medical treatment if needed. In addition, there must be immediate access to sources of drinking water.
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2) Rights of Workers
This indicator implies the set of all legal and human rights, at the basis of relations between workers and employers. Contracts, the right to negotiate and close the relationship without consequences are part of this theme, but above all the emphasis is the attitude to give the same treatment to every social group, in order to avoid any form of discrimination (immigrants, women, ethnic or religious minorities).
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3) Food Sovereignty
It’s the freedom of choice about the type of products to be processed or the type of plant to be grown, including traditional products and / or locally adapted varieties of seeds. It includes access to adequate and healthy nutrition.
Economic Resilience
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1) Fair Price
Sustainable trade practices are based on fair contracts and prices. Prices must reflect the entire cost of production, including an adequate pay level for workers. Furthermore, the ability to understand according to which criteria the stakeholders establish the prices for the products or raw materials treated is assessed, in addition to all other commercial information that is known (purchase price from competitors, sale price at detail).
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2) Liquidity
It’s the ease of access to credit when needed, including formal sources such as banks and financial institutions but also the ability to self-finance through savings and cash reserves, set aside specifically to mitigate the risks associated with every type business (unforeseen climatic events for farmers or breakdowns of plants and machinery for transformers).
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3) Safety Nets
Safety nets include access to contingency insurance of any kind, but also having a risk management plan. They are important as they help to minimize the vulnerability to economic, environmental and social risks that can arise during an unexpected event, which lead to a sudden shortage of liquidity and therefore make it impossible to meet expenses related to raw materials, salaries, loans, etc.
Environmental Integrity
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1) Climate Footprint
Greenhouse gas emissions are among the main factors influencing climate change on a global level and represent a problem for the health of the planet. Given the difficulty in calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, this indicator focuses on practices that drastically reduce these emissions; the maintenance of hedges and trees in their natural state, the reduced tillage of the soil, the management of manure for livestock systems, the use of machinery and plants that emit small amounts of greenhouse gases.
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2) Soil Footprint
Indicator referring mainly to farmers, measures the impact on soil health. It is especially important for crop growth, but it also affects carbon retention, groundwater purification and the nutrient cycle. In agriculture, some practices useful for soil health are the use of natural fertilizers, nitrogen-fixing perennials, plant intercropping and rotation.
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3) Water Footprint
Clean water is essential for agricultural practices, just think that agriculture itself uses 70% of all purified water. The increase in water demand and climate change make the adoption of practices aimed at saving water even more important. Farmers are preferred who use drip irrigation, manual or at least surface irrigation. Furthermore, it is verified that the production laboratories do not disperse the residues of the processing within them.
4) Biodiversity
Natural ecosystems, such as forests and woods, are rich in biodiversity and bring numerous benefits to people and the ecosystem (pollination, climate regulation ..); benefits that are lost when converted to agricultural land. Among the practices that contribute to maintaining biodiversity is the setting aside of land in the wild, or the maintenance of entire areas of land where no type of activity is carried out, but also the conservation of hedges and buffer zones. In addition, farms that deliberately choose to cultivate / breed different species of plants / animals are privileged.
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5) Materials and Energy
The recycling and reuse of materials contributes to a more efficient use of natural resources. This has a positive impact on the ecosystem, people and the economy. Recycling can come from waste from manufacturing processes reused for other uses, and it is good practice to prevent and minimize waste during harvest (for farmers) and during transport (for processors). The use of energy from fossil fuels has a negative impact on the atmosphere; for this reason we prefer those who implement practices to reduce consumption or those who use clean energy, for example by installing photovoltaic panels.
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6) Animal Welfare
Where applicable for farms that raise livestock, it is understood as the psycho-physical well-being of the animals. Different species have specific needs, but each breed must have access to adequate veterinary care and enjoy decent and adequate living conditions, intended as adequate spaces to graze and sufficient food.