June 2012 – Tea has been grown in the highly productive Kericho district of Kenya for many decades. For much of that time plantation managers were focused primarily on agronomic improvements and crop productivity. However, in the late 1990s increasingly unpredictable rainfall led to reduced resource security. Crop productivity fell and the hydroelectric power that ran the factory machinery became increasingly unreliable.
The Natural Capital Business Case Study: The Kericho Tea Plantation is the first in a series of Natural Capital Business Case Studies, and looks at the Kericho tea industry, which lies within Kenya’s most important water catchment. Each study profiles the work of companies that recognise the importance of impacts on natural capital and take steps to mitigate them, providing inspiration, guidance and learning for companies looking to follow suit.
