The botanical extraction company Naturex, based in Avignon,
France, announced the opening of its new corporate foundation in September.1
The Naturex Foundation, created in March 2008, will support projects in
countries from which Naturex derives its plant materials.2
“Our
corporate foundation is a long-term engagement and an extension of our
long-standing commitment to responsible corporate citizenship and sustainable
development,” said Jacques Dikansky, president and CEO of Naturex and president
of the Naturex Foundation, according to a Naturex press release.1
“Although Naturex has already been involved in several sustainable initiatives
since its creation, we upgrade to an upper level with the opening of our
corporate foundation.”
“For
Naturex, the foundation is a line in the sand,” said Chris Kilham, founder of
Medicine Hunter Inc. and member of the foundation’s consulting committee
(e-mail, November 3, 2008). “It shows a real and practical commitment to
communities from whom it derives botanicals and demonstrates real leadership in
benefit sharing. Basically, Naturex is voluntarily upholding practices and
principles outlined in the international Convention of Biological Diversity. I
admire Naturex for stepping up and putting resources into this foundation.”
The
foundation has already made a commitment to support 2 community projects. In
partnership with the France-based charitable association AgriSud International,
it will help fund a project to set up farms to facilitate social and economic
advancements for disabled young persons of the Moroccan countryside. The
foundation has also partnered with the nonprofit Peruvian association Kalisayas Out Reach to upgrade and improve the dental
office and school within the Peruvian town of Ninacaca, as well as provide the town with an
Internet center.
“Morocco
and the Peruvian highlands are areas from which Naturex derives significant
quantities of beneficial botanicals, and in which the company also has
excellent community relations,” said Kilham. “Starting out funding projects in
these areas makes good practical sense and honors the contribution that these
areas make to the global Naturex business.”
Naturex
sources several botanical extracts from Morocco, including such wild-harvested
culinary and medicinal botanicals as rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), thyme (Thymus
vulgaris), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.),
and chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus),
and such cultivated botanicals as olive (Olea
europaea), artichoke (Cynara scolymus),
and pomegranate (Punica granatum).
“Naturex has a large extraction facility in Casablanca, on the main prolific plain of
Morocco, which provides privileged access to abundant raw materials of great
quality,” said Antoine Dauby, secretary of the Naturex Foundation (e-mail,
October 10, 2008). “This location has strengthened Naturex’s relationship with
the Berber and other people who harvest and prepare these herbs.”
The main
botanical that Naturex obtains from Peru is maca (Lepidium meyenii). “Naturex sources maca in the central Peruvian
highlands, relying on partnerships with local growers,” said Dauby. “Work
conducted by Naturex over the past 10 years has helped to transform maca from
an unknown herbal product to a well established herbal product in the United States
and other countries. This has resulted in economic benefits to the people of
the Peruvian highlands.”
According
to Dauby, Naturex has allocated a total budget of 150,000 euros (approximately
$192,800 USD) to fund projects during the foundation’s first 5 years, after
which the foundation will be evaluated in order to continue. According to
Kilham, “These projects and others will go on for 5 years. Then the
foundation’s activities will be formally scrutinized by government agencies. If
Naturex has fulfilled its commitments by law, then the foundation will carry
on.” He added, “It will definitely carry on." Persons who represent a
project in line with the foundation’s values and intervention fields are encouraged
to fill out a project submission form from the foundation’s website (www.foundation.naturex.com).3
The foundation may choose to support submitted project proposals, pending
approval by the executive board and subject to a partnership agreement. “The
Naturex Foundation is a good start,” said Kilham. “It will be successful not
only for its projects, but hopefully for influencing other profitable companies
to do the right thing and share benefits with communities from which resources
are derived. Benefit sharing is not gift-giving. It is an essential component
of honest business.” Naturex was
founded in 1992 in France. In 2005 the company
purchased PureWorld Inc., a manufacturer of botanical extracts in Bedminster, NJ.
More information is available at www.naturex.com
—Courtney Cavaliere
References
1. Naturex
opens its corporate foundation [press release]. Avignon, France:
Naturex; September 16, 2008.
2. Foundation
page. Naturex Foundation Web site. Available at: http://www.foundation.naturex.com/contact.html.
Accessed October 23, 2008.
3. Contact
page. Naturex Foundation Web site. Available at: http://www.foundation.naturex.com/contact.html.
Accessed October 23, 2008.
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