News

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

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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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November 30, 2022

Navigating Voluntary Sustainability Standards from the lens of SWOT Framework

“The deadly impacts of climate change are here and now. Loss and damage can no longer be swept under the rug. It is a moral imperative. It is a fundamental question of international solidarity – and climate justice.” – Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general at the COP27 in Sharm-el- Sheikh. In his statement, UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres said that the growing number of catastrophic events causing enormous suffering around the world had no warning or means of preparation; and calls

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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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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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September 22, 2022

The Tools of Trade: Exploring challenges and opportunities of Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the forthcoming UNFSS 5th Flagship Report

The recently approved UNCTAD XV Bridgetown Covenant recalls that “today, many Sustainable Development Goals are behind schedule, and, despite remarkable efforts and progress, many people and places have not managed to enjoy the benefits of progress. The tools of trade, investment, technology, and finance can do more to change this reality and foster a more inclusive, sustainable, equitable and resilient world.” Voluntary Sustainability Standards are one such tools of trade that leverage sustainability criteria as a means

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May 30, 2022

Triple Vulnerabilities: The Role of Sustainable Trade and Value Chains

In a world grappling with converging disruptions: effects of the pandemic, supply chain strains, and climate change; the conflict in Ukraine further risks pushing the world into a global crisis. UNCTAD’s analysis indicates a worsening outlook for the world’s economy, underpinned by rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices, heightened financial volatility, sustainable development divestment, complex global supply chain reconfigurations and mounting trade costs. “Soaring food and fuel prices will affect the most vulnerable in developing countries, putting

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