The demand for avocados has grown significantly in the past years. In 2017, Coop imported almost 5000 MT. Avocados are produced in many countries in the world but for Coop Peru, Chile and Spain are the most important producing countries.
It is expected that the demand will remain on this high level or grow even further. Avocados offer many nutrition-physiological advantages but have, compared to other fruits and vegetables, a very high water-footprint. The production of 1 kg of avocado requires ca. 2000 l of water.
The problem of the high water-demand is exacerbated by the fact that avocados are mostly grown in regions with scarce water-resources. In these regions the increase of avocado-production aggravates the water-stress for flora, fauna and the local human population.
In the past years, Coop has dealt intensively with the issue of water-consumption in their supply chains. By lack of alternatives, Coop has developed its own standard on water-usage called SPRING. The standard requires sustainable water-usage in agriculture by explicit requirements. Producers that use the SPRING standard must:
The project has the following objectives:
