SHI Working Groups

These working groups are where SHI Members are working to translate the ideas we’ve discussed about challenges in the herb industry into  specific actions we can take individually and collectively. Please contact SHI Director, Ann Armbrecht for more information on becoming an SHI Member.

1. SHI Learning Lab: Bringing a systems perspective to key issues in the herb industry. Find out more here.
2. Beyond Certifications: Certifications have been an important tool in developing and implementing best practices around designing and implementing fair and sustainable sourcing practices. Yet, there is now an abundance of certifications that are confusing to consumers and expensive and time consuming for everyone in the supply network, with the heaviest burden falling on producers. We have explored these issues in three webinars, Certifications as a Sustainability Tool for Sourcing Botanicals, Producer Company Perspectives on Certifications, and Certifications as a Path to Sustainability. This group is gathering information and identifying the ways to best support the continued evolution of certifications as a tool to support high quality and sustainably and ethically sourced herbs.
3. Wild Harvesting Plants:  This working groups sets out to research and identify how to build a prosperous and sustainable wild collector model that can be applied and implemented across geographical regions around the world. Our goal is to gather best practices from different regions of the world to help create a model that ensures the health and longevity of plants and ecosystems along with establishing viable and long-lived green economies for all wild collector communities. After conducting the research/gathering the stories of these wild harvesting communities, the Sustainable Herbs Program will hold a virtual summit to share best practices, develop/deepen relationships among industry stakeholders working with wild collecting communities around the world, to share best practices. We are currently designing a pilot study to be used for a more in-depth proposal.
4. Primary Processing Working Group: A place where primary producers can discuss challenges and best practices with each other and first buyers. The objective of this group are 1) to share information in an open way; 2) to strengthen the voices of primary processors in the value network; 3) to share a guide to buyers and brands about how they can best support primary processing companies.
5. Scope 3 Emissions: This group is collaborating to jointly map scope 3 emissions for key botanicals to reduce the cost and time needed to get this data. This information will then be used to implement mitigation programs.
6. Indigenous Partnerships Community of Practice