vermarupal

About vermarupal

This author vermarupal has created 6 entries.

October 9, 2023

The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D): What Role for Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS)?

This article delves into the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) proposal and probes the prospective role that Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) can play, potentially offering existing structured frameworks for due diligence obligations, including commitment, assessment, mitigation, monitoring, communication and remediation infrastructures. The article, presented in a series of articles by UNFSS, highlights how certification processes can support the implementation of due diligence obligations to ensure sustainability in global value chains. Currently, about 70 per cent of international

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July 12, 2023

Unlocking the Transformative Potential of Voluntary Sustainability Standards: UNFSS National Platforms’ Network work towards Sustainable Solutions

Amid the challenges posed by the food, energy, and finance crises, its impacts on global value chains, and the upcoming regulations in the space of sustainability compliance, the UNFSS National Platform and Initiative Cooperation Network (NPICN) convened on the 05th of July 2023 to discuss implications, in particular for the developing countries. Recognizing the urgency of these crises, the meeting served as a rallying point for experts from diverse backgrounds, united in their commitment to unlock the transformative

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March 21, 2023

Navigating the Landscape of Voluntary Sustainability Standards: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries 

Countries are striving to implement sustainable practices in the face of multiple crises, including climate change and food insecurity, as well as disruptions in international trade. There is thus a clear need for a profound transformation to achieve sustainable development. There has been a growing interest in the role that trade and trade policy measures, such as voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), can play in advancing sustainable development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Following this impetus, the United Nations Forum

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December 20, 2022

UNFSS Year in Review: 2022

Another year full of achievements and learnings comes to an end. As we look back on our successes, we at the UNFSS Secretariat thank each and every one of our partners and supporters for their unwavered support which helped us reach a number of milestones this year. As we look forward to welcoming 2023 with you, allow us to take this opportunity to highlight some of our key activities in 2022. UNFSS 2022 in review Here is our small

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October 13, 2022

Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), Sustainability Agenda, and Developing Countries: The UNFSS 5th Flagship Report

Today, when you enter a supermarket, you are surrounded by a number of products that have a variety of labels and stamps which claim different sustainability aspects. It is a common sight to find products that are certified by, for example, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, FSC, and CmiA. This proliferation of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) has raised questions about their tangible benefits. While there is a need to eliminate the noise of overlapping standards, there is also a more pertinent

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October 6, 2022

Sustainable Trade and VSS Dialogue: Understanding the role of VSS for advancing the sustainability agenda through the forthcoming UNFSS 5th Flagship Report

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently warned that the world is on brink of a “perfect storm” of crises. The global food, energy, and financial crisis has hit countries that were already reeling from the pandemic and the climate crisis and has pushed back what had been a growing convergence between developed and developing countries. The role of trade for sustainable development has gained greater momentum in addressing these challenges. Today, the concept of sustainable development through trade, standards,

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