Stories

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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July 24, 2019

Integrating small-scale producers into sustainable value chains is a collective effort

  Linking small-scale producers in developing countries to larger lucrative markets via integrating them into global value chains are widely recognized as valuable ways to boost the economy hence, poverty reduction. Small-scale producers are by far the majority of farmers in the world, in some estimates producing 70% of the world’s food[1]. Thus, promoting exports of products in compliance with sustainability measures accounting the inclusivity of small-scale producers, became a major policy goal in many emerging economies due to

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April 11, 2019

Assessing the Perception and Willingness towards VSS

The considerable diversity of priorities associated with the uptake of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) have captured significant interests for researchers to analyze the drivers that stimulated stakeholders to be certified (or not). Given the unclear distribution of benefits resulting from these sustainability certifications, smallholder farmers are striking economic actors in the value chains that have expressed unprecedented concerns. This is not to say that they do not see the value of adapting sustainability measures into their operations, but rather concerns

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March 5, 2019

Enriching Good VSS Benchmarking Practices through Global Consultations

Time to opt for Good Practices in Benchmarking Sustainability The essence of defining good practices underlines the replication of applying accumulated knowledge and experiences to new situations. Identifying such models can be adapted to improve any discovery of unanticipated challenges. As we start to recognise the growing prevalence of sustainability issues addressed by participants along the global supply chains, governments and civil society are seeking mechanisms to evaluate sustainability performance through the advent of good practices. Supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft

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February 21, 2019

Resurfacing Biodiversity, from a Sustainability Standards Perspective

Nearly half of the world’s population is directly dependent on biodiversity for their livelihoods. Today over 3.2 billion people depend on biodiversity for their livelihoods, but the globe’s biodiversity resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. In Europe alone, the cost of biodiversity loss is estimated about 3% of its GDP, or €450m (£400m), a year [1]. “If we are going to address the issue of biodiversity, we also have to look at the fundamental issues

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December 3, 2018

Andean Community expands its Sustainable Exports scope to Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador.

On June 2018, the Andean Community Secretariat, together with UNFSS launched its first dialogue in Peru on ‘Sustainable Trade between Peru and the EU’ with the inception to support Peruvian SMEs exporters and policy makers into implementing sustainable measures in order to access the lucrative EU’s renowned “Sustainable” market. UNFSS supports three key outcomes in the region, policy dialogue among national and regional VSS stakeholders, research and analysis in the region, and capacity building activities to promote sustainable exports from

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November 20, 2018

Indonesia to ignite a national dialogue on VSS

Indonesia, represented by Badan Standardidasi Nasional (BSN) has been part of the UNFSS’s National Initiative network since 2016. BSN has been involved in several VSS-related activities and have also witnessed the launch of their counterpart’s National Platform. This November, Indonesia will be taking a leap forward into establishing an informed dialogue on VSS at national level. In collaboration with the German Development Institute (DIE) Managing Global Governance (MGG) programme, the International Seminar “Public Awareness and Internal Meeting on Voluntary Sustainability

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September 17, 2018

Launch of the 3rd Flagship Report: Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), Trade and Sustainable Development

3rd UNFSS Flagship Report: Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), Trade and Sustainable Development   The relationship between Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), trade and sustainable development are among the most pronounced concepts sought-after the realm of green global value chains. We typically see the benefits of imposing sustainability standards as a positive advantage contributing to the environment, social and the economy. The VSS system has in fact influence the export landscape to either facilitate market access or become an obstacle to trade, especially for importing countries that have turned to

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