Chapter 3 · Self-Assessment

HOW TO USE THIS

Introduction

This questionnaire can be used to assess where your company stands in terms of sustainable and ethical sourcing. It can help set short and long-term goals and outline action steps. It can also be used as the basis for annual sustainability reporting and for certification audits.

We recommend including certification managers, sourcing, and sustainability team members to fill this out together — and to use it to stimulate discussion rather than as a compliance exercise.

The assessment has three parts:

• Baseline: Where you are now
• Reflection: What’s working and what’s not
• Planning: Where you want to go

PART I

Baseline, where are you now?

Sustainability

For the purposes of this assessment, sustainably sourced may include environmental stewardship, social responsibility, economic viability, and long-term supply resilience.

• How do you define “sustainably sourced”? (internal assessments, third-party certifications, traceability systems, other)
• What percentage of the herbs you source do you currently consider sustainably sourced?
• What makes these materials sustainable? (farming practices, certifications, long-term relationships, pricing structures, investments at source)
• What percentage of your total annual botanical purchases are covered by third-party sustainability standards?
• What percentage of your sourcing would you like to be sustainably sourced in the future?

Transparency and traceability

Traceability refers to your ability to track material back to the farm or wild-collection site. Transparency refers to how much information is available, shared, and verified along the chain.

• How do you purchase your botanical materials? (self-produced, directly from farmers, through brokers, through processors, open market)
• What percentage of the botanicals you source can be traced to the source?
• How do you verify your suppliers? (supplier visits, third-party certifications, internal approval process, photo or video documentation, peer references)
• What is the approximate tenure of your supplier relationships?

Risk assessment

• Do you have a methodology for assessing sourcing risks?
• For approximately what percentage of your raw materials do you have some form of risk assessment?
• Do you use this information to identify opportunities to invest in or support sourcing regions?

PART II

Reflection, what’s working and what’s not?

• Overall, are you satisfied with the quality of the botanical materials you source?
• If not, what would you like to change — price, quality and testing, supplier relationships, sustainability performance, or other?
• Are you satisfied with the sustainability of your sourcing practices overall?
• What are the biggest barriers to improving your sourcing practices? (budget, internal capacity, supplier limitations, certification costs, lack of data)
• What sourcing practices are currently working well and why?

PART III

Planning, where do you want to go?

Translate your reflections into concrete goals, using the following as a framework:

• What are your top three priorities for improving sustainable sourcing in the next 12 months?
• What resources — budget, staff time, partnerships — will you commit to these goals?
• Who inside your company will be accountable for each priority?
• How will you measure progress? What does success look like in 12 months?
• What support from SHI or from industry partners would be most useful?