SustainabiliTea

Q & A

• What are Lipton's goals for Rainforest Alliance certification?

  Lipton has committed to sourcing all of its tea in teabags from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM tea estates by 2015. Because Lipton is the largest buyer of tea in the world (purchasing about 12 percent of the world's supply of black tea), the company has to take a step-by-step approach to certify its entire tea line.

  Lipton started with certification of its own estates, because Lipton thinks it is only fair that before asking its suppliers to get certified, it certifies its own estates. The tea manufacturer has a long history of developing and employing sustainable methods, and places like Lipton's Kericho Estate in Kenya have a distinguished record. After the successful certification of the Kericho Estate in June 2007, several third-party suppliers in Kenya, Argentina, and India, are now Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM.

• What is the Rainforest Alliance?

  The Rainforest Alliance is a nonprofit conservation organization that works to conserve biodiversity and protect the rights and welfare of workers, their families and communities. Farms that meet comprehensive standards for sustainability earn the Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM seal. These standards conserve biodiversity, ensure that soils, waterways and wildlife habitat is protected and that farm workers enjoy decent housing, access to medical care and schools for their children. By shopping for products bearing the seal, consumers can support conservation and help to improve the quality of life for farm families. For more information, go to www.rainforest-alliance.org.

• What is "sustainability"?

  Sustainability is widely defined as "meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The standards used by the Rainforest Alliance measure sustainability by looking at social, environmental, and economic criteria.

• Tell me more about Rainforest Alliance certification.

  The Rainforest Alliance's certification program is guided by the ten principles of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) that:

  1. Ensure farm's adherence to certification standards
  2. Conserve eco-systems
  3. Protect wildlife
  4. Conserve water
  5. Provide access to decent housing, potable water and healthcare for workers and their families, and access to education for their children.
  6. Ensure safe working conditions
  7. Foster positive community relations
  8. Practice Integrated Crop Management
  9. Conserve soil
  10. Manage waste responsibly to safeguard health and the environment

• Where does Lipton get its tea from?

  The main countries Lipton gets its tea from are Kenya, Malawi, Indonesia, India, Argentina, and Sri Lanka, but it buys tea from virtually every tea-producing country.

• How is Lipton improving the social and economic welfare of its workers?

  The well-being of employees is a critical component in determining if the farm will be deemed sustainable through Rainforest Alliance certification. In addition, Lipton provides workers and their families with free housing and medical care as well as, primary schools for their children.

  Economic sustainability is also practiced. For example, Lipton's estate in Kericho, Kenya, pays its leaf-pluckers a wage that's three times higher than the national average. In fact, Lipton had been working toward sustainability for over a decade, and part of that commitment has always been to pay the company's workers good wages and benefits—well above the local standard.

  Through Lipton's commitment to use only tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms, the company is ensuring decent working conditions for the workers on it plantation. And by demanding that Lipton's other suppliers become Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM, the manufacturer is ensuring that those workers are treated in a way that meets the certification standards.

• How is Lipton ensuring environmental sustainability on its estates?

  Being environmentally sustainable requires planting indigenous tress, something Lipton also asks visitors to do to offset the carbon emissions created by flying to the estate in Kericho, Kenya. It also means that the estate generates its own renewable energy and implements farming practices that increase the yield on existing fields, thereby reducing the pressure to keep cutting down more forests and planting more tea pushes. And the estates even maintain protective areas for indigenous animals.

  On Lipton's Kericho Estate, 97 percent of the energy used is from renewable sources—mainly from Lipton's own hydroelectric power stations and the eucalyptus trees that Lipton grows to fuel the boilers that dry tea.

• Will the taste of Lipton Tea change once it is certified?

  No; Lipton takes great care to make sure that the same high quality and taste are delivered consistently to its consumers. Lipton has asked its main suppliers to become certified by the Rainforest Alliance to ensure that the company will be buying the same high-quality tea it buys now.

• Is Lipton charging consumers more for tea sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM?

  No, Lipton will not charge consumers a premium for the company's commitment to sustainability.

• Is Lipton unique in its efforts to have all of its tea in teabags Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM?

  It is Lipton's ambition to lead this change in the tea industry and Lipton encourages others to follow in its footsteps.

Message From Lipton

We hope you enjoy learning about Lipton's dedication to sustainability. We at Lipton are proud to say that by committing to source our teas from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM estates, we're helping to conserve the environment and provide a better life for tea pickers and their families.

By purchasing Lipton Tea that bears the Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM seal, you're helping to support a healthier planet and make a positive impact on environmental, social, and economic conditions for farm workers, their families, and communities. Your small cup can make a big difference.