The British Ornamental Plant Producers (BOPP) Scheme has become synonymous with ornamental products produced under high standards and can now boast a membership of more than 90 members, representing the bedding and pot plant, hardy nursery stock, cut flower and bulb sectors and packhouses dealing with ornamentals. The scheme has achieved much since its introduction in the mid-1990s and now in its eleventh year, it is setting its sights high for the future.
The scheme was developed by the British Bedding and Pot Plant Association (BBPA) and ADAS, with support from the HDC to provide a certification scheme that would give retailers reassurance that their suppliers were meeting certain criteria with respect to legal, environmental and quality requirements. At the time of its inception the only certification option for growers was British Standard 5750, which was a generic standard for manufacturing businesses. Fred Milbourn, then BOPP chairman, found support from retailers for a sector specific scheme and in 1995 a certification technical sub-committee was set up by the BBPA. Since then the scheme has grown with continued funding from the HDC to encompass all sectors of ornamental production and its management committees have worked hard to ensure the future sustainability of the BOPP Certification Scheme.
BOPP Management
The Scheme has now been registered as a limited company under the name of Ornamental Plant Producers Certification Ltd and is managed by a board of directors, chaired by Neil Bragg.
The company’s directors are Tim Briercliffe, Andrew Eames, Ian Finlayson, Eddie Horrigan, Mike Mann, Duncan Taylor and John Whitehead. The Board meet two to three times a year to discuss the scheme’s strategy, finances and marketing.
The management of technical issues is delegated to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which is chaired by Wayne Brough (ADAS). The committee members are Kevin Campbell, David James, Mark Riley, Steve Carter, Steve Homer, Fay Richardson, Peter Byrne, Kevin Hill, Francis Mizuro, Ian Riggs, Sue Lamb and Rebecca Grant.
The committee meet four times a year to discuss technical management of the scheme and liaison with other bodies.
In addition to the Board and TAC, BOPP has appointed ADAS to manage the scheme on a day-to-day basis on their behalf. The team comprises of Wayne Brough (TAC chairman), Anna Kearton (technical liaison manager) and Jeanette Soer (secretary).
BOPP Activities
BOPP aims to support its membership to achieve certification to its standards, which makes it unique relative to other certification schemes. Since its formation the scheme has been supported financially by the HDC. This support has enabled the standards to be developed, training workshops to be organised, an annual technical seminar at the AGM to be provided, the website to be developed and EurepGAP benchmarking to be achieved.
In addition to HDC funded events, BOPP also provides a number of support services including:
Quarterly newsletter
Website listing
Templates and guidance notes
Sample manuals
Auditing guidance notes
Case Studies
Three BOPP certificated members explain how the scheme has benefited their businesses:
Rochford Gardens Ltd
Rebecca Grant of Joseph Rochford Gardens Ltd explains how the Scheme has benefited the firm.
“Rochfords attended the launch meeting for the BOPP Standard for Hardy Nursery Stock producers in February 2003 and joined the scheme that summer. Our first audit was completed May 2004 and we have held Silver and Gold status since that time.”
“As a wholesale company operating over three sites with three production teams, a sales team and a despatch team, the BOPP scheme provided the vehicle to objectively look at how the company ‘worked’ and how the departments interacted with each other. We supply the landscaping industry and currently are not required to be a member of a quality scheme. BOPP, as a grower based scheme, presented a practical framework for us to work with; the standards cover the whole business and have encouraged us to record and develop how the whole company operated. Following the standard meant that no areas could be ignored because they were too thorny!”
“It has provided a practical management tool to ensure legal and environmental aspects are reviewed and kept up to date. Continuous development is key to BOPP, and to any business that wants to grow in this ever changing industry. Looking back since we joined the improvements are plenty; improved nursery systems, improved traceability, continuity of records across the sites. It’s amazing the improvements and small changes that can be made which have a far greater effect further down the line, and do eventually become second nature…”
UKAS accreditation has helped place the scheme within other similar, more widely known schemes. As the scheme develops it must stay true to its roots and the different Codes of Practice must remain appropriate to their specific industry. Rochfords has shown that the scheme is not just of value to companies who are required to have accreditation but also forward thinking companies who need a helping hand and the knowledge that twice a year an assessor will come knocking on the door.
Winchester Growers Limited
Mike Mann, production and operations director of Winchester Growers Ltd, explains: “Winchester Growers have now been members of the BOPP Certification Scheme for over two years, and operates over two sites in Spalding, Lincolnshire and Penzance, Cornwall. The business is certificated against both the BOPP Ornamentals Packhouse Standard and the Silver and the Silver Grower Standard. BOPP has enabled the business to enhance the quality management systems already in place throughout the business and has encouraged the growing operations to introduce new systems and enhancing those already in place. Winchester Growers have always been conscious of the effect farming can have on the environment and have been proactive in introducing environmental action plans, particularly in Cornwall.”
“However, BOPP has also encouraged the business to review and continue to develop our environmental policies. Once achieved, BOPP Certification helps businesses to continuously improve year on year and encourages good disciplines. Retail customers want to be sure that their supply base aspire to certain standards and that they can rely on their suppliers to provide the highest standards with respect to good agriculture and good manufacturing practices. BOPP enables a business to achieve this.” Mann is a director of the BOPP Scheme.
Farplants
Farplants is a co-operative made up of six medium sized nurseries and one contract grower, which markets its plants through a central sales company. Steve Carter says: ‘All Farplants members have been certificated under BOPP since July 2004. The work required in implementing the scheme individually would have required a lot of time but the members were able to work together on the manual and putting systems in place.
This has not only spread the work load but has also improved and consolidated communication within the group. BOPP has brought many changes and improvements to the way Farplants members now run their businesses. The systems and records required for BOPP have established good nursery practice and improved traceability, providing a greater sense of control through the consolidation and structuring of information.
Membership of the Scheme has involved staff throughout all levels of the business and the standards achieved have helped to instil a sense of pride and achievement amongst staff.
From the sales perspective, membership of BOPP has not only satisfied the auditing requirements of major customers, but has encouraged the business to further improve customer services, developing a vastly improved customer complaints tracking system.’ Carter is a member of the BOPP Technical Standards Committee.
The future
To ensure the sustainability of the scheme the board and TAC are now looking to the future and how it can continue to provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the ornamentals industry certification needs.
The scheme is currently looking at how it can assist its membership with meeting the ethical trading and environmental requirements of retailers, in particular how the scheme fits in with ETI and LEAF.
The scheme has recently been working with the Growing Media Association (GMA) to develop a BOPP Standard specific to growing media manufacturers, which will be launched this year. New areas are also being evaluated where the scheme could be implemented, such as in the garden centre industry and as a requirement for local authorities sourcing plant material from the horticultural industry.
For more information about BOPP contact Jeanette Soer on 01954 268205 or email Jeanette.Soer@bopp.org.uk. The BOPP AGM and HDC funded technical seminar ‘Practical Solutions for Green Issues’ will be held on the June 20 at Sutton Bonington.
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