Certification and sustainability programs:

Reinventing Sri Lankan plantations

There has been an increasing trend among Sri Lankan plantation companies, over the past few years, towards obtaining certification and implementing sustainability programs.

Certification is a powerful marketing tool and recognised as a useful component to stimulate movement towards sustainable management. Demonstrating to buyers that sustainable agricultural practices, including compliance in safety and quality standards they seek are being met, has undergone a phenomenal change in recent years globally.

Certification and sustainability programs bring together organisations such as growers, manufacturers and retailers, environmental organisations and local and international NGOs.

Recent statistics obtained by the Planters' Association of Ceylon (PA) indicate that all Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) have initiated action towards obtaining factory and estate certification.

Among the factories, popular quality certifications include ISO 22000, ISO 9000 and HACCP, while sustainability programs of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade have been initiated by estates.

Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) is a not-for-profit organisation working to improve tea sustainability, the lives of tea workers, and the environment in countries where tea is produced. According to the PA survey, 168 plantations are Ethical Tea Partnership compliant.

Certification is obtained through assessment of estates' performance against social and environmental criteria laid out in the ETP Standard.

Partnering ETP has also enabled a platform for different stakeholders to collectively find ways of assisting the industry and plantation communities adapt to the future. On a wider scope, ETP also promotes ethical business practices, benefiting all associated with the tea industry.

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is an international not-for-profit conservation organisation that works to preserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour.

In Sri Lanka over 78 estates have obtained RA certification.

Rainforest Alliance, Consulting Coordinator for Sri Lanka, Giri Kadurugamuwa said, "Rainforest Alliance certification is important for plantations as instead of solely focusing on production, programs on environmentally sound, socially equitable, economically viable methods of production, meeting needs without compromising future generations are introduced by training producers to comply with the Sustainable Agricultural Standards (SAN)."

"More than 10,000 hectares in 49 estates are in the pipeline for certification this year and shows the importance and demand for RA certification by plantations Sri Lanka," he said.