Munnar-based Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Private Ltd (KDHP) today said it has received the coveted Rainforest Alliance Certification, for its plantations spread across more than 8,845 hectares.
This was a global recognition bestowed upon over 100 types of crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa and fruits and livestock for following and maintaining sustainable agricultural practices, a coompany said in a release.
The company's plantations were spread across over 8,845 hectares, including seven estates an 16 factories, it said.
Since 1987, the New York-based Rainforest Alliance has worked to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior in more than 100 countries, through the promotion of standards developed by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), a global coalition of non-profit conservation organizations.
Chacko P Thomas, Managing Director, KDHP, said becoming a Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM company "has further solidified KDHP's objective of facilitating the production in a sustainable and equitable manner, while maintaining our responsibility towards the nature surrounding us and our employees who work relentlessly for this cause."
One of the highlights of KDHP's run towards achieving the Rainforest Alliance certification had been the implementation of a uniform, Integrated Waste Management Programme. This programme was streamlined and implemented in such a way that the daily waste generated is segregated at source in receptacles of different colours.
All sections of the KDHP community have been trained in this, right from school children, and the appreciation has been commendable so far, according to Mohan C Varghese, General Manager - Tea Manufacture & Human Resources.
As part of this recognition, KDHP's Ripple brand of teas will soon carry the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal of the green frog on the packaging, making it one of the few retail brands in the country to sport the seal.
