1. About Us

3. Our investments

During a ten-week period we assessed the applications received for funding and selected eight initiatives with a total value of £2.4m, of which £1.18m in agriculture and £1.22m in garments from FCDO. Partners invested £2.5m, giving a total budget for these initiatives of £4.9m.

The programme invested in four projects in agriculture and four in garments across seven countries and two continents.

7 countries

8 projects

£ 4.9m

Total investment

£ 2.4m

FCDO investment

20 brands

and retailers (clear of overlaps)

296

suppliers

1,428,000

people reached with support

1,188,000

5 countries in Africa

4 in agriculture

£2.6m in agriculture

£1.18m in agriculture

13 in agriculture

83 in agriculture

228,000 in agriculture 2 countries in S & SE Asia

4 in garments

£2.3m in garments

£1.22m in garments

10 in garments

213 in garments

1,200,000 in garments

Ghana

Cadbury Farmer Resilience Fund

Lead partner: Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade Africa Consortium partners: Mondelez International

Bangladesh

Supporting women in the garment industry earn a living, stay safe and be respected in a COVID-19 environment.

Lead partner: Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Consortium partners: Arco, Mi Hub, M&S, New Look, Primark, Sainsbury’s, Tesco

Preventing a COVID-19 Garment Health Worker and Supply Chain Crisis

Lead partner: CARE International UK Consortium partner: M&S, Primark

Hidden Supply Chains in Bangladesh – Bringing agency and resiliency to informal workers

Lead partner: GoodWeave International Consortium partners: Monsoon, VF Corp, Awaj Foundation

Kenya

Building resilience and sustainability in flower supply chains

Lead partner: Fairtrade Foundation, Fairtrade Africa and MM Flowers Consortium partners: Co-op, Coventry University, FNET, M&S, Tesco, Women Working Worldwide

Sea Freight Flowers

Lead partner: Flamingo International Consortium partners: Flower Watch, Practical Solutions International

Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Securing workers’ rights in a COVID-19 context in East African agriculture and horticulture supply chains

Lead partner: Ethical Trading Initiative Consortium partners: Coop, Flamingo, MM Flowers, Minor Weir and Willis, Morrisons, Partner Africa, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Union Roasted, Waitrose

Myanmar

Bridging the gap: supporting the transition from crisis to resilience

Lead partner: Impactt Limited Consortium partners: Primark, Women Win

4. Our Performance on Sustainable Development Goals

Our portfolio is producing benefits that reflect aspirations under the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The BP4GG contributes to 8 of the 17 Global Goals

1 No Poverty 7.1% of the world’s population or 734 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2019. The pandemic increased depth and breadth of the 734 million

BP4GG has built the resilience of nearly 1.2m vulnerable workers, farmers or community people and reduced their exposure and vulnerability to similar economic, social and environmental shocks such as the pandemic. 13 % of these beneficiaries live on less than $1.90 a day. 38 % below $3.20. 63 % below $5.50.

2 Zero Hunger

3 Good Health & Well-being In light of the pandemic’s effects on the food and agricultural sector, prompt measures are needed to ensure that food supply chains are kept alive to mitigate the risk of large shocks that have a considerable impact on everybody, especially on the poor and the most vulnerable.

The BP4GG helped agriculture supply chains, through ETI led Kenya-Zimbabwe-Tanzania interventions, to maintain trade in vegetables and fruit; it also directly addressed food shortages of over 12,000 Bangladeshi garment workers, 4,000 Kenyan flower & vegetable farm workers and almost 84,000 Ghanaian cocoa farmers and their families, supporting them with food aid, nutrition gardens, food crops.

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Currently, the world is facing a global health crisis unlike any other — COVID-19 is spreading human suffering, destabilizing the global economy and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe.

BP4GG have reached over a half of a million garment workers and communities in Bangladesh with sensitisation about COVID-19 vaccine. 52% have registered for vaccines already. 33% have had the COVID vaccine, of which 13% of them are fully vaccinated. 92% of those which are not vaccinated, plan to take the vaccine in the future. BP4GG have provided access to primary care services to over a quarter of a million workers and community people in Bangladesh.

5 Gender Equality Women are not only the hardest hit by this pandemic, they are also the backbone of recovery in communities. Putting women and girls at the centre of the recovery process will fundamentally drive better and more sustainable development outcomes for all, support a more rapid recovery, and place the world back on a footing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

55 % of those reached with BP4GG support are women. This helped over 0.6 million women improve working practices, knowledge, information, reduced their exposure and vulnerability to COVID 19 and build their resilience to related extreme events such as the pandemic.

8 Decent Work & Economic Growth Sustainable economic growth inclusive of all people and provides decent, meaningful jobs for the global community to improve human well-being.

BP4GG provided over 1.4m people with COVID-safe workspaces, COVD-19 vaccination awareness and information, as well as access to health care and more nutritious food in workplace canteens 84% of them are garments workers or people from communities where garment workers live.

10 Reduced Inequalities

13 Climate Action

17 Partnerships For The Goals COVID-19 has deepened existing inequalities hitting the poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest. It has put a spotlight on economic inequalities and fragile social safety nets that leave vulnerable communities to bear the brunt of the crisis

BP4GG have used Washington Convention to identify PwD in its supply chains, and ensuring they are equally benefiting from the support provided. 14-16% of flower workers reached with support in Kenya are PwD. Overall, 6.9 % of those which benefited from support in agriculture sector are PwD. 3% in the garments sector. 36% of workers which benefited from support are youth.

As countries move toward rebuilding their economies after COVID-19, recovery plans can shape the 21st century economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, safe and more resilient. The current crisis is an opportunity for a profound, systemic shift to more sustainable economies that work for both people and the planet.

3,710 tonnes of CO2 emissions removed or abated in twelve months 2020-2021 (equivalent to taking 500 cars off the road for a year⁴). And growing…as weekly shipments continue since July 2021 independent of FCDO funding. Over 16.5 million flowers shipped from Kenya to Europe, reducing carbon emissions by up to 95% Over 7,000 cocoa farmers in villages in Ghana are practicing more resilient agriculture because of the BP4GG support.

No country can overcome this pandemic alone. Global is not only a moral imperative, it is in everyone’s interests. Any successful intervention requires inclusive partnerships — at the global, regional, national and local levels — built upon principles and values, and upon a shared vision and shared goals placing people and the planet at the centre.

35 partners of which 20 brands/retailers and their 296 suppliers joined forces with FCDO to address the social and economic shocks that COVID-19 brought into agriculture and garments supply chains. FCDO invested £2.4m to address the crisis in agriculture and garments supply chain… but partners brought in even more resources (£2.5m) to fund adequate COVID-19 response and recovery measures. Our investment changed the way suppliers do business and ensure workplaces are safe and secure with COVID-19 safety measures in place

The BP4GG worked with 296 suppliers (factory and farms); The support helped suppliers deal with the pandemic in a way that benefited both the business and their workers. Here is what 97 managers selected across all suppliers have told us:

79%

Impact of the pandemic on factory/farm: For 79% COVID-19 had a largely negative or slightly negative impact on their factory or farm.

100%

Reached with support: All respondents report that they received support from their respective partners.

96%

Operational changes: For 98% of suppliers the way they run their business has very much improved or improved because of the support received. Stricter implementation protocols, sanitizing and wearing a face mask were the most frequently reported changes that were being enforced at the workplace. Importance of support: For 98% the support provided to the factory/farm through BP4GG was very important or important to help deal with the impact of the pandemic. Training and awareness & implementation of safety protocols were the most important type of support mentioned by managers.

100%

Continuation beyond: All of them said it was very likely of somewhat likely to continue implementing these changes in their factories/ farms/unions.

85%

Perceived business health: Overall nearly 9 in 10 managers report that their business is doing much better than other similar business around. Managers feel they are more capable, more supported and safer working conditions than other similar factories/farms/unions around. Relationship: 63% very much improved relationship with retailers/brands, 19% slightly improved. In Ghana for all union leaders the relationship with their buyer has very much improved.

98%

100%

Recovery from covid-19: For 100% the support provided to the factory/farm through BP4GG was very important or important to help recover the impact of the pandemic. Factory leaders in Bangladesh report improved results related to COVID-19 awareness, while union leaders in Ghana talk about improved cocoa farmers livelihoods; other managers in Kenya talk about continuation of operation and ensuring workers livelihoods.

82%

100%

Degree of change experienced: All mentioned that their expectations have been met with the support, they received, and the support led to a much improved working environment. Change in outlook: 100% are feeling more positive now about their factory/farm/ union now than when this support started.

100%