City of Vancouver Commits to Fair Trade Java; the Greenest City just got a little bit Greener

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The City of Vancouver is keeping pace with several other Canadian municipalities by applying to become a “Fair Trade Town.” This commits the City to purchasing Fair Trade coffee, tea and sugar, as well as other Fair Trade products for meetings, offices and cafeterias. Eight Canadian towns have already received certification and at least eleven other Canadian municipalities are working towards becoming “Fair Trade Towns,” including Montreal, St. John’s, and Quebec City.

Transfair Canada – Canada’s third-party certifier of Fair Trade products – provides the official “Fair Trade Town” status, which is slated to happen for Vancouver this week, just in time for World Fair Trade Day (Saturday, May 8th). Vancouver will be Canada’s largest municipality to have achieved this designation.

Fair Trade guarantees that business supply chains function according to standards of fairness, transparency and accountability – setting the proverbial ‘level playing field’ – especially for those at the producing end of the supply chain. Vancouver’s commitment to Fair Trade means the City will use its spending power to advance several social and environmental objectives, such as the ‘green economy’, ‘fair labour practices’ and ‘toxic free’ food production.

In a report presented to Vancouver City Council, ethical and sustainable purchasing has been identified as a key priority by Mayor Robertson’s Greenest City Action Team, and is seen as a strategic and cross-cutting lever for making Vancouver a leading edge sustainability organization.

We at Reeve Consulting believe these kinds of commitments are a very important piece in creating a green and fair economy; an economy from which everyone can derive benefit. We think more municipalities should commit to these policies. We also know that public declarations are just one step in a process of positive change. They are an important declaration. But as many will attest, maximum strategic impacts come when innovative policy meets with outstanding implementation.