Bees and other Pollinators: Bees and other pollinators are an important element in growing flowers and plants for essential oils, and should be included in the planning of any growing operation.
Best Practices: Agricultural production techniques that have been demonstrated on specific crops in specific regions to be economically viable, while having the least environmental and human health impacts of currently available sustainable methods to given production outcomes.
Chain of Custody: Sequential and chronological documentation accounting for the custody, control, transfers, processes and procedures involving all raw materials and products used in growing and processing for essential oils and other related products. Chain of Custody allows for greater transparency, tracking and tracing in the essential oil supply/demand chain.
Demand Chain: The state of a supply chain where necessary changes are driven by consumer demand back through the chain to the grower and processor
Consumers push demands for higher value and sustainability
Growers/Processors/Distributors market value and sustainability to Consumers
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): Genetic modification where recombinant genetic technologies are employed to produce organisms whose genomes have been precisely altered at the molecular level, usually by the inclusion of genes from unrelated species of organisms that code for traits that would not be obtained easily through conventional selective breeding.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program: A formal, written statement of all pest controls utilized in growing operations, including the use ofnatural and biologic controls such as certain pest-controlling plants (ex. rosemary, thyme) grown in or around crops.
Life Cycle Assessment: A fair, wholistic analysis requiring the assessment of raw-material production, manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal.
Mitigation: To minimize the ecological damage caused by an alteration in the landscape resulting from an agricultural activity through subsequent habitat restoration or through equitable compensation by means of land set-asides or other mechanisms.
Packaging and Packing Management Program: A formal, written statement of commitment addressing sustainable packaging and packing practices.
Quality: Determined by the value propositions (promises) made by each member involved in growing, harvesting or processing for essential oil. The market determines what product quality is worth in terms of value and benefits.Quality of essential oils vary greatly and is dependent on the grower’s value proposition, growing conditions, age of the plants, proper harvesting of plants and the knowledge of those performing the distillation processes.
Supply Chain: A term that describes the supply of raw materials and products through a series of hand-offs from producer to distributor to retailer to consumer. (See Demand Chain)