Introduction to ECIP LAB (Learn, Assess & Benchmark)
ECIP LAB takes each principle of the Ethical Charter and breaks it down into a series of management systems required for effective implementation and offers Learn, Assess and Benchmark channels:
- Learn: learning resources, templates and best practices are provided for each management system
- Assess: the user is guided through statements on the principles of the Ethical Charter and asked to choose among 5 statements that assess the farming operation’s current status in that area
- Benchmark: as a user interacts with the system, a dashboard will begin populate with the self assessment statements chosen.
Webinar: Learn more about the role of Suppliers in ECIP
Getting Started as a Supplier
Your buyer invites you into ECIP LAB. After registering for an account and paying the annual subscription fee, you can add other users to your account and invite your growers.
In Supplier LAB, you will be asked to define the number of growers that make up your supply chain, access a host of resources to support growers align with the Ethical Charter, and answer a series of assessment questions. You can benchmark your progress and prioritize areas for improvement. As you progress through the self-assessment, invite growers and meet other milestones, you earn an engagement score which is shared with your retail and food service customers.
Growers have a similar experience in Grower LAB, assessing their management systems, benchmarking their progress and prioritizing work to better align with the Ethical Charter. You will be able to see their progress in the platform and an engagement score for each grower, but you will not have access to their self-ratings or other specific information.
A buyer invites their suppliers to the Ethical Charter Implementation Program. Suppliers receive an invitation directly from ECIP LAB to register and pay an annual subscription fee. If you haven’t received an invitation or are having issues with registering, please contact us.
Suppliers engage with Supplier LAB to earn stars in the engagement profile that will be shared with retail and food service customers.
Suppliers identify the size or a range of growers in their supply chain and invite their growers into ECIP.
Suppliers cannot see a grower’s assessment ratings or information they’ve entered, but they monitor progress and access an engagement profile for each grower.
Growers access the Grower LAB within ECIP to assess their management systems, access learning resources and benchmark their progress. If a growing operation has earned a field-level certification from an approved program, they enter ECIP at no cost and earn a gold star in the engagement profile.
Retailers have access to the Buyer Dashboard, where they see a ranking of suppliers based on engagement with Supplier LAB and their growers’ engagement with Grower LAB.