Angela Chan, Sustainability Lead at Oppy, demonstrates how ECIP can empower a supplier managing a wide range of commodities and growers. By leveraging ECIP and its assessment as tools for continuous improvement, Oppy is supporting a vast grower network in strengthening their sustainability and compliance practices. Read on to discover how Angela navigates a complex compliance landscape while driving meaningful progress at the grower level.
I serve as the Sustainability Lead at Oppy, where I oversee a broad portfolio of environmental and social responsibility initiatives. My work spans responsible sourcing, emissions and waste reduction, resource efficiency and sustainable packaging. I work closely with teams across the company to align these efforts with our long-term strategy and to support our grower base in advancing their sustainability practices. At its core, my role is about connecting people, data and ideas to drive meaningful progress.
Oppy joined ECIP when the program launched in 2023, beginning with a review of our grower base to understand who could leverage benchmarked certifications. When Engagement 2.0 broadened participation, we brought in a wider range of growers and shifted toward more hands-on capacity building. Since then, ECIP has become a central part of how we help growers strengthen their social responsibility systems and build long-term capacity.
The ECIP webinars and resource guides were my starting point, they made the platform and its intent much easier to understand. The ECIP support team has also been incredibly helpful and responsive whenever clarification is needed. Internally, I develop clear guidance and resources for our grower relations team to support grower engagement, and I meet individually with growers to walk through ECIP and discuss their broader social responsibility approach when extra support is helpful. Those touchpoints have made engagement much smoother.
ECIP helped us move from a largely audit-driven approach to a more proactive, year-round process. It prompted us to look more closely at our own internal processes – how we gather information, how we support growers and how we identify gaps. It also provides growers with a clearer path for building management systems rather than focusing on one-time requirements. Overall, it has introduced more structure and intentionality into how we approach social responsibility.
ECIP supports our broader goals by giving us a consistent way to understand where growers are on their social responsibility journey and how we can help them continue progressing. It has also encouraged some of our growers to take more proactive steps, including pursuing approved certifications to aim for the Gold Star. For Oppy, ECIP strengthens transparency, supports long-term capacity building, and helps align our sustainability goals with the expectations of our retail partners, ultimately elevating the overall sustainability of our supply chain. Being recognized as part of the 2026 Leadership Circle is a meaningful milestone for us, and we’re excited to continue building on that foundation alongside our growers!
Start by identifying growers who already hold approved certifications, as they can help accelerate early progress. Make full use of the resources ECIP offers, especially the support team. And most importantly, engaging growers early to explain the purpose and value of the program makes participation much smoother.
A common misconception is that ECIP is simply another audit, it isn’t. There’s no pass or fail moment, and the focus is on year-round improvement. Another misconception is that growers need everything perfectly organized before joining. In reality, ECIP is designed to help build those systems, offering structure and clarity that support stronger relationships and better long-term outcomes.