PURPOSE

The Organic Trade Board is a forum for business leaders from across the UK’s organic movement. Our aims and objectives are:

• To work with members of the organic movement to double the value of organic sales in the United Kingdom in the five years between January 2009 and December 2014;
• To communicate the benefits of organic production methods to the public;
• To be a collective body that can speak on behalf of the organic industry to a range of stakeholders including: Government, Consumer Groups and NGO’s;
• To work to ensure that the highest possible organic standards are upheld at all times.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership is open to organic businesses where organic is a significant part of their trade. The term ‘organic business’ includes but is not limited to the following: textiles, health and beauty, cleaning & hygiene, and food & beverages, as well as promoting organic related leisure and tourism.

STRUCTURE

A Committee of ten to twelve industry representatives elected to represent member’s interests, to meet at least three times a year to discuss and agree actions necessary to meet the objectives of the group.

Members elect the Committee. The Committee elects the Chair.

Committee Members will serve a three year term with 1/3 of committee members retiring by rotation each year. If Committee members want to serve again, they are allowed to stand for re-election.

The committee will meet at least three times a year either in the form of a meeting or a conference call.

GROUP OBJECTIVES

The Organic Trade Board “OTB” is a body that brings together businesses that work with Organic products. The common aims and objectives are:

Upholding organic standards
Consultation on the development of organic standards in the UK, taking a position on legislation that affects organic agriculture and associated products and consumer trust/expectation, representing the industry to regulators, officials and other International bodies.

Reaching the public
Connecting with the public through marketing and communication activity determined by the OTG. The OTG will share the benefits of organic products with industry and the public to help expand markets for organic products.

Growing supply
Working with organic farmer/grower groups to communicate business raw material supply needs and to establish ways of increasing supply in a sustainable manner.

Growing the market
Through working closely with trade shows and Industry Awards and sharing market intelligence. The OTG commissions and shares consumer market data and market trend analyses used to help shape business growth and identify actions needed to protect vulnerable sectors in the market.

Proving the benefits of organic production
Through working with public and private organisations to support scientific research on the environmental, health and nutritional impacts of organic agriculture and its products.

To provide a single collective body that can speak on behalf of the industry to a range of stakeholder bodies including; Government, Consumer Groups, NGO’s etc

To provide guidance to all organic certification bodies on the needs and issues within the industry.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:

A membership package is to be developed by the Committee to benefit market development in the organic sector.

MEMBERSHIP COMMUNICATION

All members are invited to submit agenda items and issues for discussion by the OTG Committee via the OTB web-page www.organictradeboard.co.uk

All proposed agendas and minutes of meetings are to be available on the OTB web page.

The key membership contact is Catherine Fookes,

MEMBERSHIP COSTS:

Membership fees have been set at £150 per year which will be reviewed in December each year.

Funding for specific work will be required as proposed by the Committee

AMENDING THE TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Committee has delegated powers to amend these Terms of Reference as it sees fit from time to time. Changes will be notified to the members and if a member is unhappy with a change and has the support of 25% of the members, the change will be subject to a vote before being implemented.

August 2010