Conference

November 2, 2022

Sustainable Trade in a Globalized World: The time to reconcile development opportunities is now

On Wednesday, 26 October 2022, the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) held its conference on Sustainable Trade and Development Opportunities in Brussels, Belgium to call on the expertise of the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange; Jamaica’s Ambassador-designate to Belgium and Head of Mission to the EU, Symone Betton Nayo; and ISEAL’s Director of Programmes, Kristin Komives; and moderated by Director and Professor of the Global Economics at the Robert Schuman Centre for

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UNFSS National Platforms
May 25, 2022

Local Solutions for Global Challenges: The Role of UNFSS National Platforms’ Network in maximising benefits of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS)

Everyday life has been struck by climate change effects, deepening poverty and hunger, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the crisis in Ukraine. As a result, the world is witnessing accelerating existing vulnerabilities and widening inequalities. The value of multilateralism and trade cannot be undermined in providing a sustainable recovery path, especially for the most vulnerable groups. In light of the above, the UNFSS National Platform and Initiative Cooperation Network (NPICN) met on 24th May

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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:

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November 24, 2021

Research Frontiers on the Adoption, Impact and Effectiveness of Voluntary Sustainability Standards

The United Nations introduced the word “sustainability” into common usage, and defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”- Brundtland Report, 1987. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has broadened the scope and premise of the strategies for development with full considerations for social factors as it includes employment, education, nutrition, health, income distribution, poverty reduction, basic needs, the environment. However, there cannot

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turned on monitor displaying frequency graph
September 30, 2021

Fostering Sustainable Trade in the APEC Region

On 14 September 2021, the UNFSS co-organized a 3-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Stakeholder VSS Awareness Workshop together with the APEC Secretariat and the Department of Standards Malaysia. APEC is comprised of 21 member economies which aims to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration. Against this background, the UNFSS has been a close partner to deliberate the

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February 10, 2020

Establishing the VSS Academic Advisory Council

Reflecting to the UNFSS research element cornerstone, the Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) Academic Advisory Council (AAC) (hereinafter “AAC”), composed of renowned academic experts from across the globe, has been established to function as a think-tank that brings together a wide variety of academic backgrounds, ranging from public international law, global governance, international political economy, economics and public management, to human rights and sustainability studies. This type of multidisciplinary approach not only reflects the implicit acknowledgement of the

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October 7, 2019

2nd ICSTS: Moving towards the five C’s of Sustainability Standards Systems

Concept Note Programme in PDF Coherence, Collaboration, Cooperation, Convergence and Consensus were five of the most widely ‘referred to’ concepts that highlighted the key-takeaway of the 2nd International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards (ICSTS) held in Rio de Janeiro in September 2019. These are the 5 important C’s that could potentially reinforce the positive impacts of sustainability standards systems. Being one of the proud co-organizers of the 2nd ICSTS, the convention

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September 30, 2019

7-9 October 2019|International Trade Centre’s T4SD Forum

  Now in its sixth year, the annual Trade for Sustainable Development Forum is one of the leading global events focused on major trends in sustainable value chains and voluntary sustainability standards. Organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the T4SD Forum will again take place in conjunction with the WTO Public Forum, from 7-9 October.     How long before sustainability becomes the norm? This year, the T4SD Forum will reflect the new realities of international trade and focus on sustainability mainstreaming – the

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September 6, 2019

Fifth BioTrade Congress: Linking trade and biodiversity

To boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Summit on 23 September to meet the climate challenge. The UNCTAD Trade Forum is meant as a contribution to the Summit from the trade and developmental community. It will bring into focus the need for action on the means of implementation – finance, technology and capacity building – and the role of trade

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August 27, 2019

2nd International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards

The Brazilian Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro), the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan) and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)  proudly organizes the 2nd International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards Date: 16-18th of September 2019, Venue: Casa Firjan, Rua Guilhermina Guinle, 211 City: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Convention Page  

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