ISEAL is really excited to welcome trustea as a new ISEAL Community Member, having worked with them to establish that they meet the ISEAL Community Member Requirements. We are looking forward to learning from their experiences of developing and managing a standards system devoted to tea in India, and working with them to support their ongoing improvement.
ISEAL members are sustainability systems and accreditation bodies dedicated to delivering benefits for people and planet. They are committed to continually improving their systems and impacts through learning and innovation; collaborating with stakeholders and peers; and are transparent and truthful about how their systems work and how they measure their impacts.
Rajesh Bhuyan, Director Trustea Sustainable Tea Foundation said, “The trustea program has been driving sustainability in the Indian tea industry since 2013. Currently more than 50% of the tea produced in India is trustea certified. Taking a holistic approach to sustainability, trustea focusses equally on the three key pillars - environment, safety and livelihoods along with regulatory compliances that deliver the right compensation and benefits to the workforce in a safe workplace. The small holder farmers are a significant focus group in the tea supply chain and we provide a comprehensive range of learning opportunities and handholding support in their sustainability journey.
However, many emerging issues have created a scenario that necessitates a fresh look at the approaches to sustainability and trustea felt that being a part of ISEAL would provide the compass to set course and navigate the future successfully.
Further, we feel our experience of working with the tea supply chain in India provides us a unique opportunity to look at offering our unique solutions to other countries in their sustainability journey. We believe that our association with ISEAL will bring in a sharper focus on our continuing efforts to make trustea a future ready and globally benchmarked sustainability program.”
In becoming an ISEAL Community Member, trustea joins a growing number of well-respected sustainability systems that are driving positive social and environmental change across multiple sectors. trustea will be working alongside these mission-driven sustainability organisations to continuously improve the effectiveness of their systems and demonstrate impact.
Further to the recommendation from the ISEAL Membership Committee, and ISEAL Board approval, ISEAL’s Executive Director Karin Kreider said, ““I am very excited to have trustea join ISEAL as a Community Member. Not only are they our first member based in India, but they are also a nationally applicable standard that has been developed with and by Indian tea industry stakeholders. I look forward to working together in the coming months and years.”
ISEAL encourages any organisation developing or operating a sustainability system with a multi-stakeholder approach and a commitment to credible practices to consider joining ISEAL.
Find out more on our membership page.
About trustea
trustea is a sustainability program for the tea sector anchored on the three pillars of environment, safety and livelihoods. The program enables producers, buyers and others involved in the tea supply chain to obtain tea that has been produced sustainably according to agreed, credible, transparent and measurable criteria.
trustea is working with smallholder tea growers, bought leaf factories, estates and packers to address issues such as working conditions, health and safety of tea workers, water pollution, food safety, soil erosion and contamination, gender issues, sustenance of biodiversity and adverse effects of climate change.
Find out more: https://trustea.org/
