“All in the Same Boat”: Recap from the Ethical Trade Forums 10-Year Summit
On 12 June in Murcia, SVZ sustainability team – Silvi Navarrete and Maria Vallet joined 180 peers in Murcia for the 10-year anniversary of the Ethical Trade Forums—Spain’s flagship platform for responsible fruit-and-veg supply chains. Under the theme “All in the Same Boat: Social Responsibility Is Everyone’s Business,” the forum spotlighted a decade of progress on labour standards, water stewardship and grievance-mechanism roll-outs. Highlights included:
- a sector-wide pledge to expand comprehensive grievance channels, developed with the Ethical Trading Initiative;
- practical workshops on social dialogue, environmental footprint reduction and cross-industry collaboration;
Sustainability manager Silvi Navarrete joined the round table session as a panelist, discussing with other industry professionals regarding the topic ‘Connecting climate, resources, and environmental and human rights’.
- ETF Awards celebrating standout projects—from Grupo Paloma’s water-and-carbon savings to SanLucar’s community “Solidarity Kitchens.”
Besides the promising outcomes, ETF Secretary-General Sergio Barberá reminded the room, “We still face many challenges as a sector, but what’s important—beyond being aware of them—is that we are committed to addressing them collaboratively, involving all stakeholders.”
That spirit of collective action is algined with SVZ’s c2030 initiative—our call-to-action for the entire food-and-beverage industry as a shared responsibility. We invite growers, customers, NGOs and competitors alike to take tangible steps toward healthier diets, ethical production and transparent supply chains. By aligning the ETF’s decade-long momentum with our own c2030 roadmap, we’re doubling down on one simple belief: when every stakeholder rows in the same direction, we can “grow better together” and build a truly sustainable future for all.
