Producing high-quality medical cannabis products requires significant resources. From cultivating, processing, packaging and shipping, there are many challenges to producing premium medical cannabis sustainably. At JMCC, we’re committed to overcoming every one of those challenges, step by step.
Many patients expect medical cannabis producers to strive to become more sustainable producers too. “Purpose-driven” consumers now make up 40% of all consumers, driving companies to prioritize sustainable practices into all aspects of business. This extends beyond industries and regions around the world, given the Paris Climate Agreement of 2018, the rise in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) corporate frameworks and a global focus on climate change. There is a worldwide push for companies to do right by the environment and, by this and other means, the communities they operate in. The goal is not just to protect but to improve our environment and contribute to social well-being.
Moreover, judging by the thousands of conversations we’ve had with patients worldwide who are using medical cannabis in their treatment, we believe an even higher proportion of them are “purpose-driven” who want their medicine to be produced both as naturally and sustainably as possible.
For JMCC Group’s Co-founder and CEO Diane Scott, sustainability was always part of the decision-making when she founded JMCC Group in 2016. It is because of her drive and focus that, today, JMCC Group has grown into a global, fully integrated medical cannabis company, operating within a self-contained supply chain. From propagation and cultivation of raw material supply, product development, manufacturing and packaging, and through to global logistics and distribution, the benefits of producing medical cannabis sustainably have been embedded in the company’s vision, values and growth strategy ever since. As Scott explains, “I reject the notion that you have to compromise societal benefits for profit. It’s not only the right thing to do, but the right way to do it.”
She also believes that patients who use cannabis for a range of medical conditions should not have to compromise quality, safety and affordability for the sake of satisfying their sustainability values. The medical cannabis industry lies at the intersection of healthcare and agriculture and, like other industry leaders, JMCC is identifying, researching and implementing more sustainable processes across its operations.
Yet we continue to see large, resource-intensive indoor cultivation facilities being built in the Northern hemisphere generating an enormous carbon footprint to grow plants in climate-controlled, artificial environments. In some cases, relatively small quantities of medical cannabis product are being shipped around the world, generating unnecessary emissions.
JMCC Group is pursuing a better way to deliver high-quality medical cannabis to patients worldwide. Our optimal, year-round growing environment in Jamaica provides a more sustainable cultivation model right from the start with equal portions of daylight and night, natural humidity above 50%, and natural air circulation provided by cool mountain breezes.
There are so many ways we are building on that “natural” head-start, for example, by:
Harvesting rainwater both to provide a safe, reliable source of clean water for irrigating our crops and to avoid infringing on sometimes scarce public water supplies,
Investing in renewable energies with the goal of becoming 90% energy self-sufficient by 2025,
Using only natural, government-approved pest management products – and only when absolutely necessary,
Implementing more sustainable packaging solutions,
Continuously investigating ways to reduce waste throughout our production operations and supply chain,
Achieving “Certified Organic” status in 2021,
JMCC Group’s vertically integrated model includes another area of the business that prioritizes delivering more sustainably, JMCC Distribution. With three regional distribution hubs located in close proximity to major markets (in North America, Europe, Australasia) and another 28 warehousing locations worldwide, we ship in bulk to the point closest to each customer. Then, each order is packed for “last mile” shipping to the final customer, be it a national distributor, clinic, pharmacy or patient. reducing long-haul shipping frequency and costs. This way we avoid the need to send multiple shipments on long-haul flights, both reducing costs and our overall carbon footprint.
Producing medical cannabis sustainably is a core value of our business, and we will continue to evolve and develop these efforts as new technologies and better ways of doing things evolve. It’s good for the planet, it’s smart for our business, and most importantly, it’s a better option for our patients, who don’t want to add to the many challenges facing our environment when choosing a safe, high-quality medical cannabis product.
For more information, visit jmccgroup.com.
