Sustainability Flower

What is the Sustainability Flower?

The Sustainability Flower represents a management, assessment and  communication tool symbolizing the concept of sustainable development in its four dimensions (economic life, societal life, cultural life and ecology with its six sub dimensions). It was developed within a network of international organizations from the organic / biodynamic movement cooperating under the umbrella of the „International Association of Partnership“ (IAP).

Each dimension consists of several performance aspects, defined in detail through performance indicators. These are, wherever possible and applicable, linked on the international standard for sustainability reporting, the GRI G3.1 of the Global Reporting Initiative.

How does SEKEM use the Sustainability Flower?

In the operations of the SEKEM companies the Sustainability Flower got applied fully in its three functions as management, assessment and  communication tool.

In the dimension "economic life" SEKEM reflects what kind of products it sells and in which way it distributes values along the value chain. In "societal life" the protection and regulation of human rights is in the focus. "Cultural life" concentrates on the question of how to develop the individual. These three areas of society are surrounded by the six sub-dimensions of ecology "soil", "plants", "animals", "energy", "air", and "water"; for understanding the positive and negative impact at the environment.

For our annual evaluation process we formulated strategic, tangible targets aligned to SEKEMs vision, mission and policies. The  continuously ongoing data collection on SEKEM’s economic, social, cultural and ecological performance results in a Sustainable Development Scorecard that we use for  improvement and communication purposes e.g. for our annual Sustainable Development Report.

Why does SEKEM use the Sustainability Flower?

The Sustainability Flower supports SEKEM in:

• Understanding all important development processes, setting targets and taking action accordingly
• Making development transparent for all stakeholders of SEKEM (clients, employees, customers, investors, business partners, media etc.)
• Giving a platform to disclose SEKEM’s self-concept as a responsible company and, thus, make it possible that SEKEM serves as a role model for other organizations that aim at sustainable development

How is the up-to-date status of the Sustainability Flower guaranteed?

The Soil and More Foundation checks regularly the main components of the flower (dimensions, goals, performance aspects and indicators; see figure 2). After three years this review is currently in process for the first time. Therefore, the next SEKEM Report on Sustainable Development will be published with a newly structured scorecard.