Dutch Ministers to sign Agreement on International Responsible Business Conduct in floriculture supply chain

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WESTLAND, Netherlands:  Sigrid Kaag, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and Carla Schouten, Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality will sign tomorrow the Agreement on International Responsible Business Conduct in floriculture supply chain.

The agreement, which in Dutch translates IMVO Convenant Sierteeltsector, involve partnerships between businesses, government, unions and NGOs. Together, these partners work to prevent such abuses as exploitation, animal suffering and environmental damage.

Driving force behind the Agreement is the SER, the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands, an advisory board for the Dutch government in which employers, employees and independent experts work together to reach agreement on key social and economic issues.

A vital part of the Agreement is the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) that has promised that 90% of the world’s flowers and plants will be responsibly grown and traded by 2020.

In signing the agreement in the World Horti Center tomorrow, the flower industry joins the garments and textile, banking and sustainable forest sectors which already inked an IMVO agreement.