Reference no: EM132394567

Case:

This is a family run flower and foliage farm in a small town on the outskirts of an urban centre. The farm is located on the edge of a small town located 25 kilometres from a regional city with a population of about 250,000 people and access to an international airport.

The farm grows flowers and foliage plants to supply florists both within the local region and international customers in South East Asia. The farm grows both native and exotic (imported from other countries) plant species and employs the farmer, two of his children and another 6 fulltime staff. The plants are grown from seedlings and root-stock that are either generated on the farm itself or bought from nursery wholesalers. Some plants are grown in climate controlled greenhouses where artificial light is used to stimulate more flowering and out of season growth. The others are grown on long benches in open areas.

All plants are connected to an irrigation system and supplied with fertiliser and growth supplements. The flowers and foliage are cut by hand early every morning, packed in a shed on the farm, and transported to various buyers using a freight company that employs both their own trucks to transport in the local area and aircraft for the international sales.

The owner/manager has prepared a system to limit and control pesticide use in response to new local government regulations which include heavy fines for the release of pesticides into the local air or water. In addition the owner/manager is thinking about strategies to limit water usage as this is one of the biggest costs for the business. The enterprise has no other specific sustainability strategies or policies.

Question:

How sustainable do you feel this company is? Give reasons to support answer.