Press Release

September 21, 2023

The EU Due Diligence Regulation on Deforestation: What Role for Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS)?

This article delves into the European Union’s new Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) and probes the prospective role that Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) can play, potentially offering avenues for collecting information, risk evaluation, mitigation, monitoring, and assurance. The article highlights how certification processes can support enhancing supply chain transparency and mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities, ultimately aligning with the due diligence needs. Deforestation is a pressing global issue with far-reaching consequences for the environment, biodiversity, and climate change. The United Nations Food

Read more
February 15, 2022

Voluntary Sustainability Standards for People, Planet, and Prosperity: Focus on G20

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed systemic fragilities across the globe. The pandemic has not only been a global health crisis but also has severely impacted the global economy and financial markets. The pandemic has affected people’s livelihoods, health and disrupted food systems. Significant reductions in income, rise in unemployment, and disruption in services have been common aftermath, especially in the developing countries. Fig.1 International trade plunged as the virus spread (Source:

Read more
March 13, 2018

Launch of the New UNFSS Website

The United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) recently unveiled its newly designed website.  The newly revamped website, which was launched last month, has been optimized for easier access to information, improved functionality, and enriched content areas. The website aims to become a hub  that provides information on the potential value of voluntary standards for a more equitable, fair and sustainable development. As a public online platform, the UNFSS website intends to increase understanding stimulate the dialogue among partners, and support

Read more
October 24, 2017

Southern powers begin shaping Sustainability Standards, by German Development Institute (DIE)

International organisations based in Geneva have recently devoted great attention to voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) which claim to align production and consumption patterns with certain social, environmental and ethical specifications. The United Nations Forum for Sustainability Standards under the leadership of UNCTAD should facilitate a multi-stakeholder process for sharing experiences, joint knowledge creation and policy dialogue on VSS.

Read more
participants
April 10, 2013

UNFSS Launch Update

UNFSS Launch Update: April 10th, 2013 The Launching Conference of the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards was held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on March 20-21. There were over 200 participants from a wide variety of stakeholder groups (inter alia: government, private sector, standard bodies, research institutes etc.). The conclusions were quite positive, in that they confirmed the need for and interest in the UNFSS, and that the UNFSS should be a source of credible information and analysis while

Read more