Plants & Flowers - Lidl Great Britain

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Responsible sourcing of plants and flowers

Responsible sourcing of plants and flowers

We are committed to sourcing our plants and flowers from suppliers who uphold high social and environmental standards, and work with suppliers that have internationally recognised schemes to accredit these practices.

Lidl GB is committed to British sourcing and, when seasonally possible, sources plants and flowers from long-term British suppliers. This includes iconic British products, such as Daffodils, Gladioli and Hyacinth. However, due to the growth and nature of the horticultural industry, most of the plants and flowers grown within Europe come from the Netherlands and Italy, whilst a large portion of production takes place in countries where climate conditions are more favourable to grow flowers all year around such as Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya and Ethiopia.

We acknowledge that the improper use of pesticides in the horticultural industry can lead to health issues for employees and cause harm to the environment and the biodiversity of the area, especially in countries where appropriate protective measures are not common. We are also aware that the flower industry has a largely female workforce, which can be more vulnerable to poor working conditions and human rights violations.

Our Commitment

We are committed to sourcing 100% of our plants and flowers from sources certified with both environmental and social standards by the end of 2020.

Download our plants & flowers sourcing policy here

Fairtrade Flowers

In 2020, Lidl GB launched its first permanent range of Fairtrade Flowers, sourced from Kenya. Our Fairtrade flower supplier has established a range of programs and opportunities to support their employees, the local community and the environment from investing their Fairtrade premium. This investment is wide ranging, from building new classrooms to avoid overcrowding at the local schools, to funding new hospital equipment, as well as reforestation projects and adult education courses.

Supporting Women in the Flower Industry

Responsible sourcing of plants and flowers

Within flower farming workforces with a high proportion of female workers are common place. 42% of workers on Fairtrade flower farms are women, making it important to ensure the risk of gender discrimination is minimised.

Through our commitment to Fairtrade, we are supporting the development of policies to protect women within our flower supply chains. Pilot policies involve training staff and raising awareness of issues such as sexual harassment amongst employees. Projects like these aim to support particularly vulnerable workers, who may not know what their rights are. A policy addressing such systemic issues allows workers to understand their rights and be provided with an opportunity to report through a dedicated grievance mechanism. As a result, the implementation of gender committees and increased awareness of HR staff who are given the confidence to deal with investigations, address issues identified and understand how to follow procedures to address incidents. Projects that include policy implementation help to promote gender equality, empower women to access opportunities for promotion and access Fairtrade Premium-funded trainings.

Responsible and Sustainable Sourcing

Tea

We source 100% of our own brand black, green and rooibos tea from either UTZ, Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance third-party certification schemes. We recognise the social and environmental challenges facing tea production, and although we sell a small amount in comparison to the global output, we are committed to doing what we can to promote sustainable production.

Fruit & Veg

Lidl GB is committed to sourcing fruit and vegetables in a responsible and sustainable way. This includes supporting the British farming economy and, when seasonally possible, sourcing fruit and vegetables from long-term British suppliers.

Soy

In the EU, around 90% of soy is used to feed livestock, so it is a vital raw material in the production of our meat, poultry, dairy and eggs. Environmental impacts of soy in countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay include soil erosion and degraded pastureland, biodiversity loss and carbon emissions.

Wood & Timber

Increasing global demand for low-cost timber products supports a multi-billion dollar business of illegal and unsustainable logging in forests worldwide. The world’s natural forests cannot sustainably meet this soaring global demand for timber products under weak forest management practices, making it critical that we take action to ensure that the wood-based fibres used in our products and packaging are from sustainable sources.

Textiles

Throughout every Lidl non-food collection, clothing, accessories and home textiles are a core element. As a major buyer of these products, Lidl has a great responsibility when it comes to living, working and environmental conditions in manufacturing countries.

Palm Oil

Palm oil is best grown near the equator, with Indonesia and Malaysia being the major producing countries for the global export market. When grown in a non-sustainable way, palm oil can lead to devastating deforestation and harm to the natural environment. We are committed to sourcing all of our palm oil from third-party sustainable sources.

Bananas

Bananas are one of our most popular products, grown and produced in countries on the equator and shipped into the UK every day. As bananas can be grown by both smallholder farmers and on large plantations, it is important that we understand our supply chains well to make sure we are able to support sustainable and ethical production in the most appropriate way.

Cocoa

Over 120 of the products that we sell contain cocoa, which represents more than 5% of our total range. We are proud that, since April 2017, 100% of the cocoa we have sold has come from third party sustainably certified sources.

Coffee

Global demand for coffee continues to grow steadily, especially in Europe. However, what coffee farmers earn from selling coffee in parts of South America and Africa is frequently still not high enough to secure their livelihoods. As a major retailer we are aware of our responsibility to ensure that the coffee we sell is sourced in a sustainable manner that improves working conditions and tackles wider social challenges.

Seafood

At Lidl GB, our principles of responsible fish and seafood sourcing are to ensure that the fish sold within our product ranges are sourced from the healthiest stocks possible using the least destructive fishing methods, with high regard for both environmental and social standards. Safe-guarding fish stocks for the future is an issue we are passionate about and we are proud of the progress we have made.

Animal Welfare

Through our partners including Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured, alongside animal welfare focussed NGO's, we have specialised contacts placed throughout the industry that can help advise and help action continuous improvement. We have created strong supplier relationships through our lean buying practices and by championing British farming, we are able to provide product with leading-welfare standards, at an affordable price.