In recent years, the floriculture industry has been undergoing a momentous shift. While on the one hand consumers and flower businesses are increasingly demanding sustainable products and practices, the industry on the other hand still faces a complex mix of challenges, many related to sustainability. From balancing environmental goals with economic viability to navigating the intricacies of a diverse supply chain, coupled with environmental and social costs of traditional floriculture practices, including water-intensive cultivation to carbon-heavy logistics, all of which handicap it, these challenges have put the flower industry at a crossroads.
The sector’s ecological footprint has, in turn, sparked appeals for change amid these ever-emerging and continuously evolving issues. There has been a demand for a change in perspective; a change in the way the industry perceives the sustainability issue as per the demands of consumers, and the planet by extension. After all, it wouldn’t be justifiable to enjoy the beauty of flowers, at the expense of the natural environment, or the people in the picture. These calls for a much deeper look into the challenges provided the basis behind Sustainabloom.
Sustainabloom - A Fitting Response to the Floriculture Sustainability Industry Needs
Conceived from the recognition of the systemic challenges within the floriculture industry, Sustainabloom, a collaborative initiative dedicated to leading the floriculture industry toward a future driven by sustainable practices at every level, was established in 2022 by the American Floral Endowment (AFE). AFE is a leading charitable organization for the floral industry that receives donations from different sectors and then reinvests them to support funding for projects that benefit the industry. And, for the case of Sustainabloom, AFE expedites the provision of education and resources about floriculture sustainability, developed by top researchers in the field.
Because consumer preferences shifted more and more toward eco-conscious products, and governments tightened environmental regulations, AFE—which is now an Associate Member of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) in a partnership that strengthens the floriculture industry through collaboration, sharing experiences, and broadened perspectives—identified a glaring gap. Most floral businesses lacked both the knowledge and the right tools to implement sustainable practices effectively. Industry surveys conducted revealed widespread overwhelm, with many professionals unsure how to begin their sustainability journeys or how to balance ecological goals with economic realities.
Accordingly, because of the conversations with industry members, and the realization that many are beset by the concept of sustainability, hardly knowing where to start, Sustainabloom basically took it upon itself to guarantee an all-inclusive approach to this important topic; breaking it down, piece by piece, for industry members to systematically learn about it and implement its ideals in their individual floriculture operations.
Sustainabloom:
“Our mission at Sustainabloom is to educate and empower the floral community by providing comprehensive, research-driven, accessible resources tailored to support all segments and business sizes. Sustainabloom also supports the need for continued floriculture research and communication around increased sustainable practices throughout the industry by making these resources user-friendly and encouraging industry-wide collaboration. As a resourceful guide and advocate, we aim to inspire and support businesses in achieving operational excellence and responsibility, fostering a culture that strives to embrace the utmost sustainable practices throughout the industry.”
Breaking Down Complex Sustainability Challenges Into Manageable Solutions
Quite like the Polestar, but for floral enterprises as they navigate the transition from traditional toward sustainable operations, Sustainabloom addresses their sustainability needs by guiding the businesses through the concept’s complexities. The initiative offers strategies to enhance their environmental management, optimize their resource utilization, and uphold fair and ethical labor practices.
Its approach is to break down complex sustainability challenges into manageable solutions, making it easier for flower businesses (of all sizes) to implement those sustainability ideals. In this approach, Sustainabloom’s key areas of focus include effective waste management through composting, reduction of the reliance on plastic packaging, enhancing the reuse of inputs, like substrate and growing containers, where possible, integrated nutrient and pest management strategies, water conservation techniques, adoption of energy-efficient practices like LED lighting, a better understanding of the overall carbon footprint concept, and supporting fair trade initiatives in floriculture.
Sustainabloom, whose founding principles revolve around providing research-backed information and practical tools to help floral businesses overcome sustainability-related challenges, also emphasizes a comprehensive approach, addressing all three pillars of sustainability together. The three pillars: environmental, social, and economic, respectively entail managing resources and reducing carbon emissions by promoting responsible waste management, conserving water and energy, and encouraging integrated pest management (IPM), as well as ensuring fair labor ideals by ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion, supporting employee education and well-being, and community engagement, as well as how to balance profit with environmental and social considerations by demonstrating a return on investment for sustainable practices. They also cater to access to funding and incentives and promote efficient resource management.
Sustainabloom:
“Without economic viability, for instance, there cannot be social or environmental sustainability. All three pillars work together to be sustainable. It is a common perceived barrier, if not the most common barrier, that cost, for a case in point, would prevent floral businesses from participating in social and environmental sustainability. Thus, we address these three pillars of sustainability altogether in our educational programs.”
Common Challenges and Barriers That Flower Businesses Face in Adopting Sustainable Practices
According to Sustainabloom, the two most common reported barriers that floriculture industry players face when adopting sustainable practices are cost and knowledge. The initiative started its program by polling industry members about what their barriers were and these were the most cited challenges. Sustainabloom, accordingly, strategized on how to gather information; including about government incentives. Industry members can, in turn, make use of the information to enhance their sustainability practices.
How Sustainabloom Addresses These Unique Sustainability Challenges of the Flower Sector
Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach. Sustainabloom, for that reason, developed a series of floriculture industry guides which are available on a range of topics. Such topics include carbon accounting, circular economy, community engagement, composting, consumer demand and preferences, energy efficiency, IPM, and many more. Recently, the initiative further released a series of guides on social sustainability, including employee continuing education, health, and parental leave benefits, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion.
It also offers education on funding opportunities, assessment tools, sustainability terms, and certification information. With these resources, Sustainabloom aims to be the main source for floriculture sustainability education and research-backed information, all organized in one user-friendly place. For those, for instance, unfamiliar with terms used in sustainability, which is jargon-heavy, Sustainabloom provides for this through its list of common terms in the glossary on its platform.
Sustainabloom:
“In addition, we focused on introductory information to develop educational guides including estimating what a return on investment could be. Costs vary depending on the size of the business and the level of technology being applied in the practice, which is tough to communicate. We are planning to look deeper into this topic for future educational resources. This has developed into a page of assessment tools that are free or paid subscriptions.
A huge help has been industry spotlights. If industry members can see that their peers have been successful and profitable in doing a sustainability practice, it helps put them in the frame of mind that ‘yes, I can do this’. Plus, for businesses that want to gain certification, either due to policy or other reasons, we have an exhaustive list of certification programs covering a wide range of topics.”
Essentially, Sustainabloom's idea is to provide an opportunity for flower companies to learn about different topics and practices so that they can make informed decisions that are right for their unique businesses and situations. Through all these, the initiative seeks to be an impactful entity in all areas of the floriculture value and supply chains, from growers to logistics, suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers. Even more, is that feedback on the program has, thus far, been positive across all of the areas of the supply chain and, in particular, with growers and suppliers.
For this noble initiative, generally, factors that contribute to success in addressing the pressing sustainability challenges seem to be a commitment not only from the leadership of the floriculture business but also from the employees. Working towards being more sustainable seems to be a mindset as much as it is a decisive social, environmental, and economic commitment.
You can check out the brand new video from Sustainabloom to learn more about the program.
Feature image by @ecuadordirectroses, header image by @alliamflowers.
