Spotlight on Partners

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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April 7, 2022

Africa prepares to mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards: Launch of the African Continental platform on Voluntary Sustainability Standards

On 6th April 2022, the African Organisation for standardization (ARSO), in collaboration with UNFSS, launched the African Continental platform on Voluntary Sustainability Standards. The platform will promote the development and implementation of sustainability standards, assist Small and Mid-size Enterprises (SMEs) in their implementation, and encourage the establishment of national platforms in ARSO member countries. The launch was conducted virtually and discussed the importance of an established multi-stakeholder platform for collectively assessing VSS’s impact on Africa’s sustained trade growth and sustainable development.

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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 26, 2020

Reflecting on current and future trends affecting standards and similar systems

There are hundreds of standards and certification schemes on the market – but some are more credible than others. The ISEAL Credibility Principles aim to represent the core values on which effective sustainability systems are built. ISEAL developed the Credibility Principles through a global consultation with a diverse group of more than 400 stakeholders with the guidance of an international multi-stakeholder Steering Committee. Their goal was to pinpoint the fundamental qualities that make sustainability systems most likely to achieve positive

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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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April 5, 2019

FiBL report: Group Certification. Internal Control Systems in Organic Agriculture: Significance, Opportunities and Challenges

About 80% of the world’s organic producers are smallholders in low and middle income countries, for whom individual certification would be unaffordable and administratively too complex to manage. These producers are recognised as organic due to group certification, a system in which groups of farmers implement an Internal Control System (ICS) and are certified by a third party certification body, which assesses the performance of the ICS and performs a representative number of spot-check inspections of group members. The approach

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November 5, 2018

ISO launches tool that maps International Standards to SDGs

Recognizing the immense value of international standards can make, ISO recently launched a campaign to inform members, policy makers, businesses and organizations on how ISO standards can contribute to the United Nations Development Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). A dedicated section on its Website features a mapping tool that highlights more than 600 standards that contribute directly to achieving the Goals, as well as an informative brochure. It is intended to serve as a valuable resource

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September 25, 2018

Presentation of 3rd UNFSS Flagship at NTMs Week 2018, October 11, Geneva

Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) Week Trade Regulations and Voluntary Sustainability Standards Date: 9-11 October 2018 Venue: Room XXV, Palais des Nations, Geneva Hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the NTM week will provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners and researchers to discuss cutting-edge issues surrounding the impact of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), including voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), on international trade and sustainable development. Together, they will consider ways of “shaping sustainable trade amid protectionism”. Regulatory and non-regulatory measures have become more

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August 29, 2018

UNFSS at the T4SD Forum 2018

How do trade contribute to SDG 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”? Find out at the T4SD Forum 2018! Registrations are now open! bit.ly/T4SDForum2018 The International Trade Centre (ITC), one of UNFSS’s composed agencies, will be hosting its fifth Trade for Sustainable Development Forum at the ITC headquarters in Geneva from 1-3 October 2018. The T4SD Forum 2018 will be held in parallel with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum 2018. Working in the same direction as UNFSS’s goal towards “better trade

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May 30, 2018

ISEAL report: The effectiveness of standards in driving adoption of sustainability practices (2018)

A State of Knowledge Review (2018) Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) are an important means of providing assurance that products and materials traded in complex, global supply chains have been produced in an ethical and environmentally benign way. Understanding what these standards deliver on the ground is an important part of the debate about their ongoing relevance. To address this question, ISEAL commissioned 3Keel and the University of Oxford to conduct a review of the evidence on whether standards systems drive the adoption

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