The Soil Association believes it is vital that organic standards are kept high and enforced effectively. Because we are independent, we can maintain our own standards. To help us do this we have set up a standards board and a number of standards committees. The board and committees are made up of our members and licensees, researchers, advisors, other experts in their field, together with independent people and consumer representatives. These committees consider proposals and amendments to the standards and advise us on other relevant policy issues. Their recommendations are circulated to all members and licensees for consultation. The board makes a final recommendation on new/amended standards, which are then ratified by our elected council. Over 100 people are involved in the committees, all giving their time and expertise freely to the process of standards development. We are very grateful for the work they do and the commitment they demonstrate. This rigorous and open process ensures standards remain high, yet attainable. The standards board » More information about the standards board The standards committees are: Agriculture Aquaculture Ethical trade Food processing Forestry Health products Horticulture Textiles Click on a committee title for a summary, current issues they are working on and a list of members. VACANCIES Consumer members for standards committees We are looking for new consumer members of the Health Products Standards Committee, Aquaculture Standards Committee, Textiles Standards Committee and Horticulture Standards Committee. You must: · Have an interest in the work area of the committee and be able to follow the discussions · Have experience of working to reach collective decisions on committees · Be a Soil Association member with a commitment to organic production. You will need to be able to commit some time to the post. Committees meet around two or three times a year and we have the occasional conference call and email discussion. If you would like more information about any of the committees or would like to send in your CV, please email Amanda at awoodmanhardy@soilassociation.org Standards Workplan 2008-09 As a result of the governance review the Standards Department is now prioritising and focusing on a carefully selected range of key issues. The Standards Board, working with the standards committees, has identified a range of work priorities. The Standards Board has then had to undertake a further prioritisation, due in part to extra staffing constraints. For each of these areas a work plan has been developed including the specifics of stakeholder engagement necessary to make the work inclusive and accountable. The work plans cover the period from Spring 2008 to Summer 2009 so that new standards can be printed for implementation from 1 January 2010. You can read the standards workplan here.