Jet Fresh Flower Growers, S.A. is now Flor Ecuador Certified. Established by Flor Ecuador

Jet Fresh Flower Growers, S.A. is now Flor Ecuador Certified. Established by Flor Ecuador and Expoflores, the certification determines the standards and requirements for producing fresh-cut flowers and foliage in Ecuador. 

A great achievement for this young rose farm in Cotopaxi, Ecuador, they received certification in the level supported by the European Union. 

“The European Union is focused on doing business with humanistic suppliers that are aware of the environment,” said Juanita Coloma, Farm Director and Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at Jet Fresh Flower Growers, S.A. 

The objective of Flor Ecuador Certified is to ensure compliance in many areas including employee’s rights, benefits, safety and their health. They’re highly focused on reducing Ecuador’s floriculture environmental impact, and controlling and reducing the use of pesticides and other chemicals. 

“Since 2005, Flor Ecuador Certified has become a Comprehensive Certification program with a socio environmental scope for Ecuadorian companies engaged in the production and marketing of Ecuadorian flowers,” according to Flor Ecuador. 

Jet Fresh Flower Growers initiated the certification in March 2019, and received approval in a rather quick and rare pace. Upon initial inspection, they had already fulfilled 84 percent of the requirements that qualified them for the certification. 

“Since the beginning, we’ve been managing our farm in the best ways possible,” said Coloma. “Not because we had this certification in mind, but because we wanted to take care of our people and the environment.” 

Jet Fresh Flower Growers is the type of company that prefers to do things correctly, and wanted to receive a higher percentage on their inspection, fulfilling as many additional requirements as they could within the allotted timeframe. 

One of the changes Jet Fresh Flower Growers made aids in water sustainability. “We bought a new pump that sends used water from the post-harvest back to the reservoir in order to recycle the water,” said Coloma. 

After two months, Jet Fresh Flower Growers received 96 percent on the official audit.  This achievement was made possible with the tremendous effort and innovation led by farm manager, Carlos Coloma who has managed the farm since established in March 2018, along with the support of Technical Engineer, Carlos González and Certifications Officer, Byron Carrera.

The Flor Ecuador Certification is applicable to companies of all sizes, engaged in the production, export and/or marketing of flowers in the Ecuadorian territory. It raises products’ competitiveness in international market by providing an added value that represents the fulfillment of social and environmental standards. A Certification Audit is conducted yearly to maintain standards and ensure compliance. 

Coloma is proud to have Jet Fresh Flower Growers, S.A. certified, achieving a great level of compliance producing fresh-cut roses in Ecuador. 

“It’s important to us that our farm not only meets our standards, but the standards of countries around the world,” said Coloma. “It matters that we grow roses sustainably to support the environment, as well as the interest of our team members to support Ecuador’s flower industry.”