Bacardi Partners with World Wildlife Fund on Sugarcane Farm

World famous rum maker Bacardi and the World Wildlife Fund are aiming to advance sugarcane standards in Fiji with a model sugarcane farm program.

The purpose of the initiative is to protect Fiji’s Great Sea Reef and tropical farmland. The Great Sea Reef is one of the largest reef systems in the world, supplying up to 80 percent of the domestic fish market.

The changes in farming that are part of the initiative include terracing and carefully distancing rows of sugarcane, which help control nutrient and seed runoff into the waterways that lead to the reef. WWF developed the model farms in Fiji.

The initiative helps protects both Fiji’s environment and its economy. Back in 2007, Bacardi started getting involved in sugarcane initiatives. “We saw sugarcane was in one of the important sectors for environmental, economic and social factors...sugarcane is important for rum development,” Dave Howson, global sustainability director for Bacardi, told me.

Bacardi ended up “being one of the founder companies” in the model farm initiative, Howson said. WWF was setting up a project in Fiji, which included the improvement of farming practices. “It was a great opportunity” for Bacardi, according to Howson.

Sugar is Fiji’s oldest industry, and it’s a “very small holder focused industry,” Howson explained. Before WWF’s sugarcane initiatives, farmers would grow sugarcane up to the water. The health and biodiversity of river systems and coastal areas is being affected by sugarcane farming, sedimentation from soil erosion and waste from sugarcane farming.

Beyond making a positive environmental impact, WWF has also helped sugarcane farmers. Sugarcane farmers are some of the poorest people in Fiji. A better sugarcane yield helps improve farmers’ lives. As Howson said, the higher the yield of the sugarcane, the higher the economic stakes. Education is also improving the lives of farmers and farm workers. A huge NGO like WWF can help out farmers, particularly when it partners with a company like Bacardi.

Bacardi sets the bar high when it comes to sourcing sustainable sugarcane, and the company influences other companies with its commitments. Bacardi pledged that by 2022, 100 percent of the sugarcane-derived products used for its rum will come from certified, sustainable sources. The pledge is the first of its kind in the industry. “We were the first company to set a time-bound commitment to sourcing sustainable sugarcane,” Howson said.

Bacardi also helped to establish Bonsucro, described as a global, multi-stakeholder nonprofit  initiative that improves economic, environmental and social conditions of sugarcane production around the world. The Bonsucro standards are the only ones focused on sugarcane. Almost 200 members from 27 countries are members of Bonsucro, and they represent various sectors of the supply chain. Bonsucro is mainly focused on Brazil and Australia. “There’s a lot of activity going on to spread the standard,” Howson said of Bonsucro. “It’s really creating a buzz. Sugar is extremely important to most of these companies.”

Image credit: Asian Development Bank via Flickr