Another focal point is the innovative adjustment of ICB’s approaches to work in the continually growing organic market, e.g. through digitalisation. By developing online training courses for inspectors and line managers, we have already taken the first steps in this direction. Our experience with the new online audits of our inspection bodies has also been good. Even after the end of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus, we plan to keep both as a second pillar in addition to the on-site audits and training programmes to increasingly assume responsibility for man-made climate change.
Where do you see a need for further development?
It is important to explain what the reasons for and purposes of inspections and certification are and how they are handled abroad. Many consumers are still concerned that inspections abroad are not as strict as at home. However, our work ensures equal treatment of all Bio Suisse producing operations. Close collaboration and regular audits by our inspection bodies ensure that our partners are doing outstanding work. This and the tremendous expertise of our certifiers guarantee the comprehensive and precise application of Bio Suisse Standards abroad.
What is especially important to you when it comes to your work?
It is the combination of harmonising the knowledge of our entire staff and simultaneously using our crowd intelligence based on the individual knowledge of each employee. On the one hand, clear processes and regular internal training sessions support this harmonisation of our knowledge. On the other hand, we attach tremendous importance to using individual expertise to examine discussion points from various perspectives. I think this combination is a special aspect of ICB and also results in very good teamwork, which makes the work at ICB especially interesting, of course.
What are some important topics that will arise in the coming years in terms of the cooperation with BIOSUISSE ORGANIC producers?
At the moment, the new and now stricter Bio Suisse water standards will be gradually introduced and implemented at BSO operations. This also requires some additional expenditures on the part of BSO operations, but there is a general consensus in support of this, as the need to establish clarity in water use is recognised on account of climate change and the global shortage of water.
Bio Suisse’s next big step is to develop standards in the area of social responsibility (see interview with Carole Nordmann). We all – Bio Suisse, ICB, our inspection bodies and the international BSO operations – are now required to invest in building up expertise in the area of social responsibility over the next few years. To successfully implement these social standards, we must all join forces. It is a huge and very exciting challenge. But I am convinced that it will be worth the immense expenditure of energy!
What is your future wish in connection with the BSO operations?
It is important to me that our work and the extraordinary work done by BSO operations is increasingly on display. It is only through the combination of Bio Suisse operations in Switzerland and internationally that we have this great range of sustainable products, such as curry leaves from Sri Lanka harvested in the wild, mango yoghurt from Switzerland and Spain, and coffee from groups of small-scale farmers in Peru, along with numerous other organic foods that we no longer want to do without. The Bio Suisse Standards require a lot from the individual BSO and Bio Suisse producers, but at the same time they unite us all in the knowledge that an overall sustainable production of food in harmony with the environment is possible.
About Maike Nesper
Maike Nesper worked closely with coffee producers in India for her doctorate at ETH Zurich and has an international background. Over several years, she has developed sustainable cultivation systems with producers in Ireland, Costa Rica, Colombia and India. She has worked for ICB since 2019. In addition to certifying cultivation operations, producer groups as well as wild harvesting projects, she was the deputy responsible for the auditing of foreign BIOSUISSE ORGANIC inspection bodies and the directly recognised cultivation associations.
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