Seeking Common Ground: Multistakeholder Initiatives in Kenya’s Cut Flower Industry

In recent years, the Kenya cut flower industry has been criticised for poor labour practices, raising questions about the capacity of codes of conduct to improve working conditions. Multi-stakeholder processes are touted as one way to improve the effectiveness of codes, particularly where there is local ownership and a broad range of stakeholders buy into the process. This paper explores the trajectory of ethical sourcing in Kenya's cut flower industry. It focuses specifically on the factors underlying the emergence of the Horticultural Ethical Business Initiative (HEBI), a multi-stakeholder body launched to guide social accountability in Kenya's cut flower industry. It identifies the points of consensus and conflict articulated by the different stakeholder categories within HEBI and the strengths and weaknesses of stakeholder partnerships for realising workers' rights