Kibagenge, the ground-breaking project set up by Finlay Beverages, The Co-operative Group, international development organisation Africa Now! and The Co-operative College achieved Fairtrade status on 30 January 2012.
The consortium secured funding from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund (FRICH) two years ago and is now well on the way towards completing the project.

The project in Kericho, Kenya works with 11,200 farmers who have formed five individual co-operatives. These five co-operatives, Kokchaik, Ainamoi, Chepcheb, Kapkap and Chesetekaa, are members of the Fintea Growers Co-operative Union Limited who achieved Fairtrade status following an audit by FLO in November 2011. Fintea Growers will manage the Fairtrade
premiums generated by the sale of leaf tea, initially with Finlays but ultimately with whomever the farmers choose.

Tea from these farmers will be processed in Finlays’ Kymulot and Chomogonday factories and will be marketed as 100% smallholder tea under the Bondet and Masangi tea marks. The co-operatives have been formally trading in leaf tea
with Finlays since November 2011.

Kibagenge aims to increase trade between Kenya and the UK, whilst improving livelihoods of small scale tea farmers both in tea and other export crops. The project has assisted farmers in organising themselves into producer co-operatives, achieving Fairtrade certification. Its end goal is to develop additional supply chain links for fresh produce to UK retailers.

“Kibagenge empowers smallholders to become more commercially orientated and reduces their vulnerability from dependence on a single cash crop”, commented Simeon Hutchinson, Managing Director of James Finlay Kenya. “Both of these are consistent with our sustainability goals. The project is also expected to strengthen the relationship that already exists between Finlays and the smallholder community, whilst the implementation of GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) assists in improving the environmental and economic prospects within their community.”

Chairman of Fintea Growers, Mr Joseph Cheruiyot, will be visiting the UK to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight (27 Feb to 11 March). He will be hosted by The Co-operative Group and will be visiting regional co-operatives, schools, conferences and events across the UK to promote the project. The Co-operative’s ‘99’ retail tea blend will be the first product to contain the Fairtrade certified tea from these farmers.

Kibagenge is an expression that translates as “coming together as one” in Kalenjin, a local language.Chairman of Fintea Growers, Mr Joseph Cheruiyot, will be visiting the UK to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight (27 Feb to 11 March). He will be hosted by The Co-operative Group and will be visiting regional co-operatives, schools, conferences and events across the UK to promote the project. The Co-operative’s ‘99’ retail tea blend will be the first product to contain the Fairtrade certified tea from these farmers.

Kibagenge is an expression that translates as “coming together as one” in Kalenjin, a local language.

Amblytech is a registered trademark.

The initiative was started by Safaricom foundation, KCB foundation and members of the media owners association following harrowing media tales of the horrific famine in the north eastern part of the country as a result of severe drought that has hit the area.

The fundraising event was the single largest ever in the history of the country and is aimed at saving an estimated 3.5 million people from starvation. In attendance were CEOS’s and senior managers from 200 of Kenya’s leading companies in the corporate and media sector.

Finlays donated Kshs 3.5 million and 2 tons of black tea and was represented at the event by Simeon Hutchinson, MD, James Finlay Kenya and Brenda Achieng, Corporate Affairs & Compliance Manager, Finlays Horticulture Kenya.

You can find all our Finlays Magazine publications in the About Finlays section of the web site.

In the above photo
From left: Charles Redfield, Chief Merchandising Officer ASDA, Rebecca Dudley, Account Executive Finlay Beverages; Glesni Owen, Business Manager, Finlay Beverages; Caroline des Forges, MD Finlay Beverages; and Emma Fox, Commercial Director for Private Label and Store Proposition, ASDA.

MAP has been used in various guises for meat, fruit and other produce for many years, although until recently the applications for cut flowers have been minimal. In the case of cut flowers, the blooms are sealed in a MAP bag. Once sealed, oxygen levels in the bag decrease and carbon dioxide levels increase naturally. This change in atmosphere reduces the respiration rate of the flowers, thus extending the storage period and reducing water demand. Sending home-delivery flowers in MAP saves water, reduces packaging, maintains flower quality for longer, and improves logistics, both in terms of weight reduction and improved pallet fills.

In previous years, M&S Valentine’s Dozen Red Roses were delivered in the conventional water-packed format, each bunch held in a cello wrap containing 700 ml of water. The water-packed roses had to be held upright during the entire chain to prevent the water from leaking and then damaging the flowers or weakening the box. As the box needed to be rectangular due to size constraints, this was difficult to guarantee once it left Finlays Horticulture.

No water is needed in the MAP format, so in addition to eliminating water damage 11,900 litres of water were saved (or to put it another way, the equivalent of 47,600 cups of tea – that’s 5 cups a day for 26 years). Furthermore, removal of this water from the delivery chain reduced overall transport weight by 11.9 tonnes and the flat presentation allowed an increase in pallet-fill from 90 boxes for conventional water-packs to 120 boxes, a 25% space-saving, reducing lorry journeys.

Best of all though our customers enjoyed Roses that looked better and lasted longer. 40% fewer people were disappointed with the roses they received this Valentine’s Day.

Finlays Horticulture is now looking at expanding the range of flowers which can successfully use MAP. MAP offers clear benefits to product quality, logistics and to the environment when compared to conventional water-packs. As such, it would seem that the future is MAP’d out quite nicely.

In the M&S Plan A Awards Finlays Horticulture won the Supply Chain Award for their work in supporting small scale farmers and Fairtrade vegetable development. The M&S citation recognised that: “The support given by Finlays Horticulture to their outgrowers is a real success story and incredibly impressive. It’s a really complicated set up and many suppliers could give up when faced with such complexity. Through Finlays Horticulture’s dedicated support, many of their outgrowers have developed into successful businesses of their own.” We were also runners up in both the Leadership Award for our work on water efficiency and stewardship in the Naivasha area and in the Exceptional HR Award for the ETI supervisor training activities in Kenya.

Richard Fox, Sustainability Director for Finlays Horticulture Kenya was given a special award recognising his “outstanding personal contribution” to water stewardship around Lake Naivasha.

In the above photo:
Chris Gilbert-Wood, representing Finlays Horticulture and Richard Fox receive their awards at the Marks & Spencer Plan A Conference.
From left: Richard Gillies, M&S Director of Plan A and Sustainable Business; Chris Gilbert-Wood, Group Technical Director Finlays Horticulture Holdings; Wanja Michuki MBA, Principal Counselor Trade and Economic Affairs, Kenya High Commission; Richard Fox, Sustainability Director Kenya, Louise Nicholls, M&S Head of Responsible Trading for Food.

On April 22nd, the final piece of the original project scope was formally completed, with an Official Open Day ceremony at the Taikoo Young Plants (TYP) facility. TYP is a joint venture between the Dutch breeder HilverdaKooij Plant Technology, and Taikoo Flowers. This venture has been co-funded by a Dutch government program called “PSOM” or “Cooperation with Emerging Markets Program” (in English), and is set up for the production and sales of carnation cuttings, tissue culture plants of flowers and other crops, as well as the selection of varieties for the specific Yunnan climate.

The project is focused on the production and sale of carnation cuttings as well as the breeding of flowers including limonium, alstroemeria, and gerbera. It provides a seamless connection of different systems, from seedling breeding and flower cutting, to after-harvest processing and cold storage.

A selection of local and overseas invitees joined the Open Day, including customers of both Hilverda and Taikoo Flowers from as far afield as Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Government officials also present were the local regional Governor and a representative from the Dutch embassy in Beijing.

The continued growth of cut flower imports into Japan, paired with the unrelenting progression of the Chinese economy certainly means the future is bright for Finlays in the Far East.

The following press release by University of Cambridge, Programme for Sustainability Leadership explains:

Major European companies come out in support of higher climate change targets.

CEOs from some of the European Union’s largest companies have come out in support of moves by the UK, France and Germany to shift the EU to a higher greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. In a letter published simultaneously in The Financial Times, Le Monde and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the 27 business leaders [1] argue that:

“By moving to a higher target, the EU will have a direct impact on the carbon price through to 2020 and deliver the economic signals that companies need if they are to continue investing billions of Euros in low carbon products, services, technologies and infrastructure. European leadership will also help rebuild the international momentum towards an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change”.

The letter is in response to an article published in the same newspapers on 15 July 2010 in which the climate change ministers for the UK, Germany and France (Chris Huhne, Jean-Louis Borloo and Dr Norbert Röttgen) set out the economic benefits for increasing Europe’s climate change targets for 2020 from 20% to 30%.

The cross sector group of businesses behind the letter includes many household names such as Asda, Barilla, BT, Deutsche Telecom, Lloyds Banking Group, Nestlé, Philips, Skai, Tesco, Thames Water and Vodafone as well as sector leaders such as Acciona, Allianz, Beluga Shipping, Centrica, Otto Group and Kingfisher.

They end the letter by stating:
“The EU’s future competitive advantage lies in encouraging and enabling its businesses to help drive the transformational change that will occur in the world economy within the next couple of decades, not to hide from it”.

The letter is an initiative of The University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) which works with business, government and civil society to help leaders address critical global challenges.

** ENDS ***

QUOTES FROM SIGNATORIES TO LETTER:

Jose Manuel Entrecanales Domecq, Chairman of Acciona said:
“We need 21st century energies to build the 21st century economy. From our company’s standpoint, to review the 20% greenhouse gas reduction target, even in the absence of a strong international agreement, makes economic sense because it will strengthen European leadership. Reaching a target beyond 20% will unlock innovation and financing potential, and will increase European industry’s readiness for new growth and development opportunities as the markets for low-carbon, high-efficiency goods and services expand. Socially it will contribute to the European energy supply security, and will contribute with new direct and indirect jobs through Europe; lastly, environmentally, increasing the emission reduction target will help Europe to reach the 450ppm goal we need to keep global warming within the 2ºC limit by 2050.”

Harrie L.J. Noy, CEO, ARCADIS said:
“ARCADIS strongly endorses further European carbon emission reductions to reverse climate change and keep Europe competitive. As a company we actively participate in the development of carbon reduction solutions and European investments in this area would also serve to stimulate highly necessary innovations in this field.”

Andy Clarke, President & CEO of Asda Stores Ltd said:
“As a business which has put sustainability at its heart Asda has seen at first hand the benefits that reducing carbon emissions brings. The 7% reduction in absolute carbon emissions we made over the last 2 years alone has saved us millions of pounds, which we’ve invested in lower prices for our customers. We need a strong European carbon reduction target to ensure that companies invest in the technology needed to reduce carbon emissions in the future”.

Sir Michael Rake, Chairman of BT said:
“Increasing the European target will accelerate the arrival of the low carbon economy and improve the region’s competitiveness in international markets.”

Christine Hodgson, CEO, Capgemini Technology Services, North West Europe said:
“Capgemini recognises the need for businesses to work in partnership with governments in tackling climate change.  We strongly support the call from UK Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, German Federal Environment Minister Dr Norbert Röttgen and French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo that Europe must continue to take the lead in decarbonising the world economy. As signatories of the Bali, Poznan and Copenhagen Communiqués, Capgemini has put sustainability at the heart of our business.  We are committed both morally and contractually to reducing our impact on the environment.  We are also supporting our clients with their own sustainability challenges”.

Sam Laidlaw, CEO of Centrica said:
“We support tightening the carbon reduction target to 30%, a move that will enable society as a whole to reduce its impact on the environment and to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. At Centrica we understand we must continue to transform our business to meet the needs of a low carbon future. We’re already making strong inroads with our involvement in low-carbon nuclear energy and we will continue to be a leader in offshore wind generation. We are also building our skills and capabilities in energy efficiency, smart metering and microgeneration, improving people’s homes and helping to reduce their energy bills in the process”.

Bertrand van Ee, CEO of DHV Group said:
“The DHV Group provides services for the sustainable development of our living environment. Sustainable business is a driver for economic growth. The faster we move as a continent, the better”.

Alain Grisay, CEO of F&C said:
“As long-term investors we strongly believe that clear and robust climate change policies now are essential to avoid potentially enormous economic damages later. Europe has in many ways led the charge, with the world’s first economy-wide emissions trading system, and ambitious policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency. But the carbon price is currently languishing at levels far below what is needed to shift investment decisions from high-carbon to low-carbon options.

Raising the 2020 level of ambition beyond the current 20% goal would provide a powerful signal to investors and business that climate policy is here to stay, and that investing in cleaner alternatives is both right for the planet and right for shareholder value”.

Ron Mathison, Managing Director, James Finlay Ltd said:
“Sustainability is the only future we have”.

Ian Cheshire, Group CEO of Kingfisher plc (including B&Q and Castorama) said:
“The move to a 30% target is a welcome one and may prove to be a very positive step towards achieving a global deal at COP16 in Cancun this December. However, consumers should not be ignored as we progress. The experience of Kingfisher’s businesses across Europe shows that there is a strong appetite among the public to reduce individual carbon impact. Governments must harness this by allowing business to change consumer behaviour for the better through the right incentives”.

Neil Carson, CEO of Johnson Matthey said:
“In these uncertain times, if industry is to risk investing in new low carbon technologies, its even more important that governments show that reducing carbon emissions is a non negotiable requirement and that it will be supported by strong policies”.

Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L’Oreal said:
“L’Oreal is already showing leadership in its sector by publicly committing itself to a 50% reduction by 2015 (2005 baseline)”.

Truett Tate, Group Executive Director (Wholesale) for Lloyds Banking Group said:
“The market for low carbon goods and services is growing swiftly.  However, this is a globally competitive market and measures like increasing the European emission reduction target to 30% will help to create the market conditions that will enable UK and European businesses to seize the commercial opportunities in a way that will secure competitive advantage and support economic recovery.”

Paul Bulcke, CEO, Nestlé said:
“While the world is rightly moving to address the challenges presented by climate change and depleting supplies of fossil fuels, the same awareness and consensus does not exist when it comes to addressing our usage of water.”

Rudy Provoost, Member Board of Management, Royal Philips Electronics and CEO Philips Lighting said:
“Now is not the time for the EU to step on the brakes and give up its leadership position. Instead the EU should speed up the transition to a low carbon society, as we firmly believe there is a wide range of benefits for consumers, the environment and the economy. At Philips we have set the ambitious target to improve the energy efficiency of our entire portfolio by 50% by 2015. We believe we can set even more ambitious targets for beyond 2015 if the EU provides a clear, ambitious and long term commitment towards a low carbon economy.”

EDITORS’ NOTES
[1] The full list of signatories is as follows:

Jean-Paul Agon, CEO, L’Oreal
Martin Baggs, CEO, Thames Water
Paolo Barilla, Vice Chairman, Barilla
Paul Bulcke, CEO, Nestlé
Neil Carson, CEO, Johnson Matthey
Ian Cheshire, Group CEO, Kingfisher (including B&Q and Castorama)
Andy Clarke, President and CEO, Asda Stores Ltd
Keith Clarke, CEO, WS Atkins
Reinhard Clemens, Member of the Board of Management, Deutsche Telekom AG, CEO, T-Systems International GmbH
Vittorio Colao, CEO, Vodafone
Bertrand van Ee, CEO, DHV Group
Jose Manuel Entrecanales Domecq, Chairman, Acciona
Dr. Joachim Faber, Member of the Board of Allianz SE
Annika Falkengren, President & CEO, SEB
Alain Grisay, CEO, F&C
Christine Hodgson, CEO, Capgemini Technology Services, North West Europe, Capgemini
Sam Laidlaw, CEO, Centrica
Ron Mathison, Managing Director, James Finlay Ltd
Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership
Lucy Neville-Rolfe, CMG, Corporate & Legal Affairs Director; Member of the Board of Directors, Tesco
Harrie L.J. Noy, CEO, ARCADIS
Dr. Michael Otto, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Otto Group
Rudy Provoost, Member Board of Management, Royal Philips Electronics, CEO, Philips Lighting
Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, BT
Ioannis Spanolios, General Manager, SKAI Group of Companies
Niels Stolberg, President & CEO, Beluga Shipping GmbH
Truett Tate, Group Executive Director, Wholesale, Lloyds Banking Group

[2]  About the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership

The University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) works with business, government and civil society to build leaders’ capacity to meet the needs of society and address critical global challenges. Its seminars and leadership groups and its partnerships with those who make or influence decisions are designed to transform public and private sector policies and practices and build greater understanding of our interdependence with one another and the natural world. Its network of alumni brings together the most influential leaders in the world who share an interest in and a commitment to creating a sustainable future.

CPSL is an institution within the School of Technology. It works in close collaboration with individual academics and many other departments of the University. HRH The Prince of Wales is its patron and it is also a member of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which His Royal Highness is President.