Berlin, 2 February 2010

In partnership with leading organic companies from around the world, the international Nature & More Foundation has developed a web based sustainability navigator aimed at raising consumer awareness of sustainability. The ‘Sustainability Flower’ empowers the consumer to make an informed purchasing decision taking all relevant environmental and ethical implications into account.

The financial crisis, coupled with global environmental/social problems and the consumer’s growing sense of responsibility, has drastically changed economic reality. The impact of this extends far beyond the traditional organic movement. But there is a lack of credible, transparent concepts aimed at sustainability communication.

These problems are being tackled by the ‘Desert Club’ – a group of leading, international companies from the organic sector. Its members include Aarstiderne (DK), Alnatura (D), Ambootia (India), Blaencamel (UK), Eosta (NL), Sekem (EG), Lebensbaum  (D), Schaette AG (D) and Soil & More (NL). They have developed a common basis for sustainability measuring and communication, which is comprehensive and transparent. The principle of the resulting ‘Sustainability Flower’ is quite simple. In the centre of the navigation flower the consumer will find the individual producer with his three spheres of social responsibility: Freedom, Justice and Fairness. The outer leaves represent his environmental footprint on vital resources, such as soil, water, plants, air, animals and energy.

The ‘Sustainability Flower’ was introduced in the market by Eosta at www.natureandmore.com, where the consumer can obtain information about various sustainability aspects of each product. Each leaf of the Sustainability Flower represents a set of performance indicators which are based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and monitored by independent auditors. The performance criteria include quantitative as well as qualitative specifications. ‘The lack of international guidelines is no reason for us to not communicate,’ says Hugo Skoppek, managing director of the Nature & More Foundation. ‘Soil fertility for instance is described qualitatively, while air is described quantitatively, with the precise greenhouse gas emissions per kilogramme, based on Full Product Cycle Assessments, monitored by TÜV and published in CO₂ equivalents for each product.

All organic products from Eosta carry a stamp, which includes a specific code and picture of the producer. By entering the code at www.natureandmore.com, the consumer can easily access the unique story of the producer as well as his social and environmental achievements.

‘When buying products, more and more consumers pay attention to social and environmental values, which they may already have supported for a long time through membership of Greenpeace, WWF or Plan International,’ explains Volkert Engelsman, managing director of Eosta. ‘Our aim is to communicate the commitment and efforts made by individual growers for the environment and society, so that the consumer can make an informed purchase decision.’

The concept will be introduced at Fruit Logistica in Berlin (3-5 February 2010, Stand Hall 3.2/D-06).