Stevia and sustainability
When it comes to sustainability, while reusing water and controlling GHG emissions are key parts of the jigsaw, so is ensuring that growers in Asia and South America are sufficiently incentivized to plant stevia for Cargill again next year, and the year after that, said Brooks.
The Truvia business, which aims to become carbon neutral and zero waste by 2020, now publishes its data on Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), an online platform for managing data on on labor standards, sustainability, health and safety and business ethics.
“We’ve also developed the first global agricultural standard for stevia, comprising 135 control criteria in 13 categories from fertilizer use to pest management, soil and substrate management, traceability, waste management and workers’ welfare and safety", added Brooks.
The standard - which has been audited against sustainable agricultural network (SAN) standards by the Rainforest Alliance accredited body NGO called Imaflora - is now being rolled out to growers in China.