Agenda Steve Homer –Flamingo in two slides –The day it all went wrong… –A solution emerges… Caroline Driver –Business Ethical Audits – “local partnership to Regional business solution”

Flamingo Group CG Scope Both Social and Environmental Our own companies worldwide Our supply partners world wide – 225 companies and over 1200 sites Governments, Trade Unions, Non Governmental Organisations, the media and anyone interested in the activities of Flamingo and their suppliers worldwide International certification bodies, private labels, trade associations and working groups.

The Flamingo Group £300M turnover 9000 employees 6 Farms in Kenya 1 Farm in S Africa Sourcing in 23 countries across 4 continents 4 UK packing sites Supplying 7 UK supermarkets 1M packs of vegetables per week 1.5M bouquets of flowers per week 18 Million Flower Stems Per Week

Flamingo Operations – Our Challenge Ability for the business to react at short notice and remain flexible without carrying surplus stock or logistics capacity. Our orders arrive at 10pm and have to be delivered to depot within 24 hours. – Forecast accuracy is 75% Provide our customers with an order service level of 97% or higher Real time supply chain 24/7 – 365 days a year

Or from here to here….. …..In 72 Hours

Licensed to trade

Flamingo success story Established in Kenya for 23 years Investment in Kenya in excess of $100m over the last 20 years Totally vertically integrated between Kenya and the UK from growing to airfreight to marketing to distribution. Geographically diverse land bank of over 2,700ha, 97% of the land is owned Reduction in chemical use by 80% through our own integrated pest management company

And then one day……….. “Write to your local supermarket asking them to put pressure on Kenyan flower growers to improve conditions.” Marie Claire Magazine March 2003

First Reaction Contact PR company Issue statements Contact customers Damage limitation All UK focused activity “Corporate denial”

It just got worse…. Supermarket task team sent to Kenya Interviews with NGOs and workers Increased allegations and anecdotal evidence Dysfunctional and weak local trade union Industry disengaged with local community Lack of trust in the whole Kenyan industry

What did we do wrong ? Reliance on single stakeholder view –Industry standards ( Kenyan Flower Council ) –Industry auditors ( Blue Chip Europeans ) Closed doors –Not listening to detractors ( NGO nutters ) –Looking at the positives ( Best in the industry ) Underestimated the new media age –SMS messages, Yahoo webmail –24 hour news media

Good Agricultural Practice Eurepgap Good Manufacturing Practice BRC Integrity Social & Ethical ETI Environmental ISO Business Equity Fair Trade Provenance

A unique solution emerges… ETI suggestion to find a local independent partner Participatory audit process using local auditors with awareness of local issues, attitudes and tensions. –Pre-audit awareness –Flexible audits tailored to the Flamingo workers and not the Flamingo customers –Text based reports not tick boxes Africa Now – a livelihood NGO more acceptable than a frontline campaigning organisation

Our Concerns about NGOs Disorganised – never been in business No concept of commercial timeframes Campaigning organisations looking for trouble Idealistic not Pragmatic Don’t know our business

What we got…. Auditors who knew about local tensions of race, tribe, gender – Most worker tensions uncovered were cultural or accidental and not management or institutional Cost effective solution and more diligent auditors. – Auditors with an interest in using their skills to suggest a solution to the problems, same cost as blue chip auditors and no PR company Credibility with our UK customers and media – Independent verification and a positive story of and enlightened company facing up to its own limitations. An emotional health check of our company – Not just a certificate to hang in the foyer of head office.

Successful partners & &

Africa Now