So often, we hear about the need for collaboration to address complex problems — problems like poverty, climate change, gender inequality, systemic racism, and the legacies of colonisation. Some would describe these as wicked problems- resistant to single and simple solutions delivered by actors working alone.
Now imagine trying to tackle not one, but all of these issues. And at the same time.
That’s the situation for the Ethical Tea Partnership. Since being established in 1997, ETP has been working to improve the way tea is produced, and to tackle the deep-rooted issues facing those who work in the industry, which include the health and safety of workers, gender inequality, housing and sanitation, incomes and livelihoods, climate change and the environment and access to opportunities. Today, ETP’s strategy is focused on change in three overarching areas:
- Economics of tea.
- Equality in tea.
- Environmental sustainability of tea.
In our recent webinar with ETP exploring collaboration for systems change, three key takeaways emerged:
- When tackling issues that are systemic and deep rooted, partnerships provide a mechanism for establishing long-term, shared and enduring action.
- Multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral partnerships that include a diversity of voices, perspectives, skills and resources are well-positioned to foster and promote multiple modes of action, targeting multiple features of a system.
- Learning about what is working in a partnership (and what is not), and the value it creates for different stakeholders, is critical for making decisions about where to focus resources and energy. Building an inclusive culture of learning and improvement is therefore key.
From its formative years as an audit-based initiative, ETP has evolved to a partnership squarely focused on systems change. As described by ETP’s Executive Director Jenny Costelloe, achieving systems change in the tea industry requires action on multiple fronts — projects delivered on the ground; pilot initiatives with business partners; and efforts to inform and influence the policy landscape at national, regional and global levels.