Foundation in
Sustainable Floristry

Gain the skills and knowledge to transform your practice – and the industry – for a healthy global future.
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Floristry is only 10 - 20% design. The rest of the time we are running businesses: wholesale buying, lifting, loading, unloading.

We're selecting floral sundries, selling flowers, wrapping and packing. We're driving, disposing of waste, working with other businesses and spending countless hours protecting fragile flowers from perishing.

As a second-generation florist who was trying to do the right thing by the planet, I felt the industry needed a course that brought sustainability into every element of business, not just design.

This course brings the worlds of sustainability and floristry together. With the help of global experts and professional florists, we take a practical look at what "sustainable floristry" looks like for working florists.

Rita feldmann, founder, sustainable floristry network

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In the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, every industry has a role to play.

The Foundation in Sustainable Floristry course is floristry's ticket to a more sustainable future.

Florists love nature. That’s why we do it.

Like every industry, floristry has sustainability issues. Floristry is associated with waste and pollution, contributes to climate change and creates issues for people when huge quantities of flowers are transported across the globe.

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Florists have the power to create change. 

From selecting flowers to choosing designs and passing information to customers, florists make hundreds of decisions every day. But knowing what makes a ‘more sustainable decision’ isn’t always obvious.

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Floristry education often fails to address sustainability. 

Whether you're a teacher, student, working florist or hobbyist, this course fills the gap. It is sustainability education, tailored to floristry. And it's designed to benefit individual practices, as well as the whole industry.

We connect the
science of sustainability
to the craft of floristry.

By sifting through the science and applying academic research to floristry, we identify a clear pathway to a new, practical system for design and doing business. 
Over 8-9 self-paced hours, you'll explore the problems facing floristry, identify solutions and learn how they can play a powerful role in shaping a nature-positive industry.
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What our students say

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This course is thorough, enlightening, moving, terrifying, urgent, essential, galvanising, and so much more. Essential for anyone who wants to make a living from floristry.”

Louisina Currie
flower farmer & florist, UK
The course really gave me food for thought and made me question what I can do better. It feels very positive — it gives hope, and direction. Highly recommended to anyone who uses flowers and cares about this planet we call home.
Sarah diligent,
florist & author, a guide to floral mechanics, UK.
Very thorough and clear! The video content is brilliant and the interviewees were very informative. I like that this course wasn't particularly about design. I feel like that is a whole other course. This course is more about gaining wider knowledge about the floral industry & really changing mindset. I was thinking while doing the course that EVERY florist needs to do this!!
MARGIE, florAL DESIGNER, AU

What's included?

You have six months to complete the course, at your own pace. Once completed, you'll receive a certificate, verifying your CPD achievement, and you'll be eligible to join the SFN Member Florist program.

Hear from the experts

Interviews with global floriculture experts from the Sustainable Cut Flowers Project, UK, provide insight into the challenges faced by the industry.

Video-rich content

Our video interviews and multimedia resources deliver complex information in an engaging and stimulating format. 

Motivation to change behaviour

Our carefully curated collection of resources both inform and inspire action.

Evidence-based learning

Links to further reading allows you to pursue interests beyond course requirements.

Self-assessment

Short quizzes throughout invite reflection and reinforce learning to help guide you to better decisions.

A new system

We show you how a principles-based approach to design and business can transform the industry for a better global future.

What will I learn?

The course includes 11 units of around 30 minutes to one hour. Some students complete this in a day or two, while some choose to space it out over a longer period. It's up to you.

Certifications

Use cut-flower certifications effectively & understand what they represent.

Communication

Be an ambassador for nature using creativity and knowledge to protect to the natural world.

People & work

Consider how people are impacted by supply chain structures and how this applies to floristry.

Emissions

Understand how emissions are connected to floristry & farming and learn how to reduce your contribution to climate change.

Sustainability

Define ‘sustainability’, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as our guide.

Global supply

Discover how the global floriculture industry functions and identify sustainability issues along supply chains.

Environment

Learn about what's at stake and how florists can tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Soil to vase

Discover what's involved in farming flowers on a commercial scale how this can impact the local environment.

Design

Design out waste by conserving resources and designing for the planet.

Circularity 

Move away from our 'take-make-waste' linear approach — to conserving resources through circular systems.

Better flowers

Choose better flowers through informed decision-making and wholesale buying.

Ethics

Invest in ethics by valuing natural capital in all decision-making.

The SFN is an independent education and membership organisation for florists.

At the SFN, we are creating a new standard for floristry, based around sustainability principles.

We saw a need for truly independent, science-based education that builds sustainability in from the beginning.

The SFN Flowers 2030 Education program supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals and emissions targets set by the Paris Agreement. 

Become an SFN Member Florist

Once you've completed Foundation in Sustainable Floristry, you can take your commitment one step further. 

The SFN Member Florist program supports florists forging a new, more sustainable path. It's free, and you'll have an opportunity to sign up in the final course unit.

Benefits of membership include:

Setting a new standard

By becoming an SFN Member Florist, you'll be working to transform the world of floral design for a better global future.

Your personal digital badge

Display your SFN Member Florists badge on your website and email. It verifies your achievements and commitment.

A directory listing

Conscious consumers need a clear choice. The SFN Member Directory helps customers make better decisions about the florist they work with.

What is CPD?

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) describes the learning activities professionals engage in to develop their skills in a particular industry.
According to The Certification Service, "CPD encourages looking forward and identifying opportunities to learn something new, refresh existing knowledge, improve skills, or simply keep up-to-date with the latest developments within a particular profession or industry".

While many industries use CPD education to maintain industry standards, CPD is uncommon in floristry. But we believe florists should have a way to learn new skills and demonstrate their expanded knowledge.
The SFN is a CPD training provider member of The Certification Service, and the Foundation in Sustainable Floristry course is CPD certified. This means that the course conforms to global CPD education principles.
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Will the course certify me as a 'sustainable florist'?

No. The SFN is an education and membership organisation.
We do not run a certification scheme or a compliance program. That means the SFN does not accredit, certify or audit individuals or businesses as 'sustainable florists'.  


Certification is an important way of setting standards in many industries (including floriculture – you’ll learn more about that in the course), but it is an intense and often expensive process. And making claims about 'being sustainable' can have specific country-specific meanings in consumer law.  

Instead, the course provides a thorough grounding in sustainable principles and practices – as they apply to floristry. And completing the course is the first step to becoming an SFN Member Florist.  

A FORCE FOR NATURE

SFN is resetting ideas about flowers and floral design for a healthy global future. We believe that together, we can transform the world of floristry into a sustainable one.
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