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IFPS to hold inaugural virtual global sustainability symposium on November 10

The International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS) has announced that it will hold its inaugural virtual global sustainability symposium on November 10, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (EST).

IFPS is the voice of fresh produce industry associations from Canada, the USA, Chile, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

In the announcement, IFPS Chair Rebecca Lee (Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada) confirmed that the IFPS is increasingly becoming concerned about the impact sustainability related initiatives, legislation, regulations, and retailer-initiated requirements are beginning to have on global fresh produce value chains.

“IFPS committed to the United Nations Sustainability Goals in 2017 and supports any initiative that leads, ultimately, to a more sustainable planet. From a fresh produce perspective, however, we need to ensure that sustainability standards developed at different points in the produce value chain are not in contradiction with each other; are not creating unintended roadblocks to domestic and international trade; and are implemented and managed in the most cost-effective way to ensure that value chain participants from growers to retailers are able to effectively adopt and integrate sustainability standards into their businesses.”

Lee described the objective of the 10 November symposium as, “an attempt to reach a common understanding of what sustainability actually means within the global fresh produce industry, and where our emphasis as an industry, going forward, should be placed. Everyone has an opinion on what sustainability means, and those opinions are not necessarily expressed by people with knowledge of how the fresh produce industry works.”

To register, visit cpmaacdfl.wufoo.com.