Study on spices and herbs: Big difference between growing countries in environmental and social impacts
Study by the Center for Sustainable Management (ZNU) on the key sustainability challenges of spices.
How sustainable are spices and herbs? The Center for Sustainable Management (ZNU) at Witten/Herdeckenun University published a study on this question, which was funded by Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung . The central finding is that there are major differences between the main growing countries; companies need to address the specific challenges to bring about change and cannot rely on labels and seals. There is more potential in working with direct and indirect suppliers in the supply chain.
Study on spices and herbs: Big difference between growing countries in environmental and social impacts
The Supply Chain Act, the obligation to report on sustainability, or the critical discussions in the media and society - the reasons why companies are looking at sustainable business are many and varied. However, spices and herbs are rarely considered in this debate. Moreover, there is a lack of scientific data on the specific effects of individual spices and herbs.
The aim of the study was therefore to quantify the main sustainability challenges of spices and herbs for the most important growing countries and to identify possible solutions. The analysis includes country-specific impacts on water scarcity, the use of critical pesticides and fertilizers, and human rights risks. These environmental and social impacts were identified as the key sustainability challenges of spices and herbs in a previous ZNU study. In order to show companies what opportunities they have to influence their supply chains, an overview of the scientific research literature is also provided.
Contact persons:
ZNU Center for Sustainable Management at Witten/Herdecke University
Julius Wenzig, author of the study: e-mail: julius.wenzig@uni-wh.de; tel. 02302 926-545
Patricia Kief, Marketing ZNU: E-Mail: patricia.kief@uni-wh.de; Tel. 02302 926-862
Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung
Elisabeth Langenberger, Research Coordinator: email: elisabeth.langenberger@raps-stiftung.de; tel. 0173 6592648
