ECIP offers resources and a marketplace of expert service providers who can help growers address key challenges in labor management, strengthening their systems and responding to retail customer requirements. The program was born from a collaborative industry effort to offer a way to engage in social responsibility reporting that is aligned with by multiple buyers and that supports continuous improvement. The online platform, ECIP LAB (Learn, Assess, Benchmark), connects growers to retailers through their suppliers.
CAPACITY BUILDING:
ECIP offers resources and a marketplace of expert service providers who can help growers address key challenges in labor management, strengthening systems and responding to retail customer requirements.
COMMON PROGRAM:
By participating in ECIP, the entire produce industry can engage in social responsibility reporting that is aligned with multiple buyers. Growers can showcase their social responsibility efforts and programs, and highlight to their customers the areas where they are actively improving.
Getting Started With ECIP LAB
The grower journey with ECIP LAB begins with a supplier invitation to register for an account. The process starts with the Assess phase, guiding users through statements aligned with each principle of the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices. Users can access additional information and resources on specific topics and visit the Dashboard for further learning. Want to get started without a supplier invite? Reach out to support@ethicalcharterprogram.org to request an invite.
Grower LAB helps growers self-assess their operation on more than 50 different work areas, systems and policies to support their assessment and continuous improvement. Through ECIP LAB, growers are invited to:
about the management systems required to align with the Ethical Charter.
their own management systems and explore resources to strengthen them.
their performance over time on a continuous improvement journey.
How to Earn Stars in ECIP LAB
Growers earn stars through engaging with ECIP, grower stars are visible to their suppliers and supplier stars are visible to their retailers via the buyer dashboard. Click here to watch a short demo of how this works.
Here’s a breakdown on how growers can get started in earning stars:
- A supplier invites a grower to ECIP after they were asked to participate by a retailer. Create a login and invite others from the operation to join.
- Assess management systems in ECIP LAB by evaluating the operation’s performance in over 50 different work areas, systems and policies. Access resources and additional information about each area, specific self-assessment on each of the management systems is for internal use only, and will not be seen by your customers. ECIP is a capacity-building tool, not a compliance test, responses will not be seen by anyone outside the growing organization, connected suppliers will only see the grower’s engagement profile.
- As the operation is assessed, an engagement profile will populate. Over time, as the grower credibly engages with ECIP LAB, access resources and re-assess management systems, the engagement profile will increase.
For a more in-depth look, visit How to Earn Stars.
How to Respond to the Assess Channel
The Assess channel within Grower LAB is designed to help evaluate current labor management systems and identify areas for improvement. When completing the assessment, it is important to provide honest and accurate responses. ECIP is a learning tool that supports a continuous improvement journey. As growers assess the operation, the engagement profile will populate. Over time, as the grower credibly engages with ECIP LAB, accesses resources and re-assess the management systems, the engagement profile will improve.
Approved Programs
Growing operations may wonder why participation in ECIP is necessary, especially if they already participate in a social responsibility program. ECIP is designed to complement, not replace, existing programs by providing additional support and resources to help improve labor management systems. If the operation holds one of the accredited 16 approved programs, they will receive free access to ECIP and earn a gold star, which is the highest form of engagement.
To access ECIP LAB, growers, suppliers and buyers pay an annual subscription fee. Growers are charged $200 per year; however, if they hold a valid approved program, their subscription fee is waived.
Growers earn this star by verifying their participation with one of the approved programs, including program details such as number and expiration date. Once submitted, the star stays valid for the entire Engagement cycle. To waive the grower fee, program documents must be emailed to ECIP support at: support@ethicalcharterprogram.org for verification.
Please check with the supplier who invited the operations to ECIP to confirm if they expect the operation to complete the assessment to earn additional green stars alongside the grower gold star.
Explore the full list of approved programs.
Pricing Structure
To access ECIP LAB, growers, suppliers, and buyers pay an annual subscription fee.
Growers are charged $200 per year; however, if they hold a valid ECIP-approved programs, their subscription fee is waived.
Email a copy of the qualifying program document to support@ethicalcharterprogram.org to have it validated and receive free access.
Sydney Fairchild, marketing and compliance at Bridges Organic Produce
“ECIP has been transformative for us and our growers. All growers currently using ECIP also have certification-based social compliance programs, which are valuable. However, ECIP offers something unique: self-reflection and internal benchmarking. This helps us understand where growers see their programs excelling and where improvement is needed.”
