The Agreement for International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC, Dutch: IMVO) in the Floricultural sector brings together the private sector, NGOs, a trade union, and the Dutch government, to address human rights risks and environmental risks in the value chain with the aim to create a more sustainable production and trade in ornamental plants. Many of the ornamental plants you find in the stores are sourced and traded across the globe. The complexity of the international value chain calls for a collective effort to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts on people and planet. Accordingly, the parties have joined forces under the IRBC agreement to leverage their efforts.
Insights and recommendations
The IRBC agreement came to an end at the closing assembly in September 2022, during which the insights and recommendations from 3 years of collaboration were shared with stakeholders from beyond the IRBC agreement. These insights and recommendations can be found in the below roadmap reports. More general information about the IRBC agreement can be found by further down this page.
Background and setup
The IRBC agreement was designed to promote sustainable supply chains by aligning with internationally recognized guidelines from the OECD and UN. Furthermore, the parties under the agreement built on existing knowledge and structures to ensure that the activities and results of the IRBC agreement do not duplicate but rather accelerate existing sustainability initiatives.
International guidelines and Due Diligence
The collaboration under the IRBC agreement is pursuant to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), whereby the Parties’ intention is to make substantial progress, within a three-year period, towards improving the circumstances of those who may experience adverse impacts in connection with the floriculture sector.
The OECD guidelines and UNGPs agreements require companies to carry out risk-based due diligence to avoid and address adverse impacts on people and planet associated with their value chain. Due diligence is a central theme in the IRBC agreement. Each company participating in this Agreement will ensure a satisfactory due diligence process. The IRBC agreement facilitates this through building capacity and developing tools and best practices.
Connection with the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative
The IRBC Agreement for floriculture was signed in 2019, with the aim of promoting sustainability throughout the value chain whilst acknowledging the sector’s existing platforms and initiatives. As such, the IRBC Agreement for floriculture builds on the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI). The Agreement will support, complement and where possible accelerate the international floriculture agenda of the FSI.
Who was involved?
The Agreement has been signed by private sector players (companies, sector organisations and an auction), a trade union, NGOs and the Dutch Government. As signatories, these parties contribute to the realisation of the ambitions in the Agreement. In addition to the signatories, the Agreement is supported by several stakeholders, who have expressed their support for specific activities described in it.
Governance
The secretariat of the IRBC agreement is facilitated by IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, with managerial support from a Steering Committee and implementing support from thematic working groups.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee oversees the progress of the IRBC Agreement and is tasked with decision making related to overall strategic issues. The Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from the private sector, NGOs, a trade union, and the Dutch government.
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Ellen Lakeman
Private Sector
Dümmen Orange
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Nada van Schouwenburg
CSO
WomenWin
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Raimon Loman
Private Sector
Dutch Flower Group
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Stefanie Miltenburg
Auction
Royal FloraHolland
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Steven Smit
Government
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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René Kouwenhoven
Trade Union Official International Affairs
FNV
Secretariat
Contact the IRBC Secretariat for more information.
