Gaia Herbs has been recognized as a winner of the SEAL 2020 Business Sustainability Awards in the Environmental Initiative category. The awards honor the most sustainable companies in the world and celebrate their leadership, transparency and commitment to green business practices.
The SEAL Environmental Initiative Award category recognizes specific environmental and sustainability initiatives based off of impact metrics, innovation, sharing of insights and investment levels. “Over the past five years, corporations have increased their investment in sustainable business practices, thereby raising the bar for ESG excellence,” commented Matt Harney, SEAL Awards’ Founder. “Our mission at SEAL is to rigorously assess and then celebrate extraordinary sustainability leadership. We’re honored to present these 2020 Sustainability Award Winners.”
Gaia Herbs was one of the sixteen winners selected based on several purpose-driven tactics, including the Gaia Herbs Roots Initiative, its social impact program. This program focuses on improving herbal and food access in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities while strengthening regenerative farming systems. Additionally, the company worked to help farmers in Nicaragua that previously grew coffee shift to new crops. Here are a few highlights of the programs in place:
In 2019, Gaia Roots introduced a Small Grants Program, which awarded four $5,000 grants to small farms, non-profits and social enterprises that focus on regenerative agriculture and prioritize farmers’ justice as a mechanism to strengthen communities.
• In 2020, the Gaia Roots annual grants program focus shifted to projects expanding herbal access to underserved communities, supporting health and personal empowerment in these regions.
• Gaia Herbs is assisting with training for 200 farmers in Nicaragua to grow organic turmeric using regenerative agricultural techniques and helping them learn best practices that will enable their long-term success, and long-term planetary health.
• Gaia Herbs’ regenerative agriculture practices, including cover crop rotation, planting pollinator friendly plants and crop diversity, enabled the brand to capture approximately 2,490 tons of CO2 in 2019. This provides vital nutrients for the plants and microorganisms, equating to CO2 emission from the electricity used in approximately 422 homes in one year.
“We are proud to be recognized as a 2020 SEAL Business Sustainability Award winner, as Gaia Herbs is dedicated to operating a business as a force for good and making a positive global impact,” said Bill Cave, Interim President of Gaia Herbs. “It is humbling to have our initiatives acknowledged, as we believe that a high-quality product is no longer enough and that we must take responsibility to promote a larger social and environmental impact in communities around the world. We are ecstatic to be awarded alongside other mission-driven brands that share a similar passion and drive for sustainability and the environment.”
For more information, visit www.gaiaherbs.com.
