Today’s environmental and social concerns – including climate change and economic inequality – push sustainability to the forefront of many business strategies, from tech companies to grocery retailers to flower farmers. To better understand the scope and limitations of sustainable practices among flower growers, wholesalers, retail florists, and floral suppliers, the research team administered an industry-wide survey. Sections of the survey delve into aspects of floriculture businesses throughout the United States, including scale of operations, current sustainability measures, motivations driving sustainability activities, and barriers preventing sustainable practices. The results indicate strong personal motivations for sustainability measures within floriculture, yet respondents perceived a lack of financial or regulatory incentives to implement such practices. A subset of results for growers are compared to a 2008 survey to assess changes in sustainability practices within domestic flower production over time. Regional variances in perceived access to resources and implementation of sustainability practices will also be discussed. Our study aims to identify key areas where progress has been made or can be made in the industry, including educational efforts and incentives to address the perception of risk when implementing sustainability practices. A subset of results for growers are compared to a 2008 survey to assess changes in sustainability practices over time within domestic flower production. Our study aims to identify key areas where progress has been made or can be made in the industry, including educational efforts to address the perception of risk when implementing sustainability practices and communicating benefits to consumers.
