Flowers 2030

How can we make floristry more sustainable?

To reliably describe a flower arrangement as ‘sustainable’ is almost always impossible.

Given all the different flowers and materials used in floral design, keeping on top of supply chains and material producers is an enormous task. One design may contain many different component parts.

But, to tackle global issues like climate change, pollution and inequality, we need systemic change in the industry — and we need it as soon as possible. We need a new standard of floristry that supports greater ideas about sustainability. And we need to reconnect with nature along the way, especially if our goal is to protect it.

The SFN’s solution is education.

We are here to educate florists to make better decisions. By making better decisions about the flowers and products they use and their workplace behaviours, florists can help to raise the standard of floristry and be better placed to meet global sustainability goals.

Flowers 2030

The SFN has developed Flowers 2030: a continuing professional development education program to bring floristry up to speed with current thinking about sustainability, as it applies to floristry. This program gives florists the knowledge and tools they need to create the products consumers are increasingly demanding.

The program has launched with the first course Foundation in Sustainable Floristry. It has been designed to support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to support the global industry to reach 2030 emissions targets set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Each year from 2025 – 2030, new education units will be added to stay on top of developments in sustainability, as it applies to floristry.

The SFN is an education provider, not certification body. We do not accredit or audit individuals or businesses as sustainable florists. Students who complete the course will receive a certificate to verify the completion of each CPD certified training program.

Completion of the first fundamental course, Foundation in Sustainable Floristry, is a prerequisite for joining the program and becoming an SFN Member Florist for 2024 – 2025.

Why continuing professional development? 

All industries evolve. Ideas emerge, products are invented, practices are refined, and standards change. As your career progresses, what you learnt in higher education, at trade school, or from a mentor can quickly become out-of-date – and sometimes actively wrong.

Continuing professional development, or CPD, is a structured way of adding the latest knowledge and practices to your own skill set. Updating your expertise gives you the opportunity to progress in your career and strengthen your industry.  CPD education demonstrates your commitment and adds value to your practice. 

People in jobs that require a licence, from doctors to builders, usually have compulsory CPD, but almost all industries have at least some CPD opportunities. 

Floristry has lagged behind. 

The SFN exists to give florists what they deserve – continuing professional development in sustainability that is evidence based and reviewed by experts, but written entirely from a floristry perspective.

The SFN is a CPD provider member with The Certification Service.