The Ethical Trade Forums Association, a collaborative initiative that was established in 2015, and which aims to improve the working conditions of workers in the agricultural sector, has been officially presented at the recent edition of Fruit Attraction. Sergio Barberá, CEO of Ethical Trade Forums, said that, at this time, the initiative already has the support of 9 large international supermarkets (still no Spanish ones) and 27 importers, as well as 43 local companies and cooperatives, and the number keeps rising day by day. These are all committed to pursuing the objectives set by the organization, one of which is to achieve sustainability.
Work in the agricultural sector has its own particularities and entails a series of risks on top of the activity itself, which is characterized by high seasonality in hiring and the seasonality of tasks and crops; and lately also by the scarcity of workers willing to do it. Therefore, having a meeting point that allows the various links in the chain to share their experiences will help the rest of the sector find solutions to common problems and situations. It is not only a resource for consultation, but a real tool to facilitate labor and environmental sustainability in the industry.
Working groups and best practice guides
In fact, as a result of the meetings, seminars and Working Groups that were launched in 2018 to address the sector's most complex challenges (7 of which are still active), the Ethical Trade Forums have released up to 16 tools in the form of guides, manuals and help documents, which in many cases have become a reference for companies.
The results of the most recent survey carried out among participants of the Ethical Trade Forums during the months of September and October 2022 demonstrate the usefulness of these tools, developed collaboratively by and for companies in the sector.
According to Sergio Barberá, the most consulted guides have been those about COVID-19 in 2020, which more than 50% of the participating entities used as reference guide, and did so during a time when safety became a fundamental aspect of an essential activity. It was necessary to adapt to an unprecedented situation, implementing solutions while new regulations were introduced and the pandemic itself kept spreading. The Guide for the use of accommodation for the workers is also a reference manual for 70% of the participants in the forums that offer accommodation to their workers, and the guide that has seen the greatest rise in popularity in 2022 is that of Dialogue between company and worker representatives, which is in the pilot experience implementation phase, and which was developed by a Working Group together with the Manual of communication strategies for conflict prevention and management.
In the area of environmental sustainability, the Association has published an Introductory and good practices guide for carbon footprint management, and it is now working on another manual for smart water management.
There is no greater tool than information
Legal regulations are the same for all actors in the agro-food sector and their implementation is mandatory; but so are the problems and the search for the best solutions, both in the labor and environmental fields. Any situations that could lead to conflicts that will be difficult to resolve need to be managed efficiently and smartly in order to prevent reputational crises within the industry.
Quoting one of the opinions shared by participants in the forums, "the direct exchange of information makes it possible to know the pros and cons of the action plans of those who have already implemented them". There is no greater tool than information, and the Ethical Trade Forums Association offers a powerful meeting point to facilitate the search of solutions to the difficult challenges that the sector is facing on a daily basis.
Therefore, Sergio Barberá says that all entities and stakeholders committed to the objectives of the forums and to promoting a positive and relevant impact on the improvement of working conditions and the sustainability of the agro-food sector are invited to join this initiative, which is widely supported at the international level.
For more information:
Ethical Trade Forums Association
afce@conexionsocial.com
www.foroscomercioetico.com