UNFSS Spotlight

December 15, 2017

Mexico Towards Sustainable Development Workshop 2017

Ministry of Economy, Mexico DF, DECEMBER 14-15 2017 The aim is to gather state representatives, coalitions of non-governmental actors, industry and academia to discuss the actual context of Mexico´s Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and have a dialogue around ‘How can sustainability standards take better account of the special needs of developing countries?’ This workshop is organized by the Dirección General de Normas, Secretaria de Economia, México and the German Development Institute (DIE). The workshop will have several conferences from experts, from the

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October 31, 2017

Outcome Report of the Expert Meeting on VSS, Market Access and Trade-Led Sustainable Development

The VSS discussions on September 27 had a twofold objective viz., to, firstly, have a policy discussion on the need for global governance in dealing with the multiplicity of VSS and harnessing them as tools to achieve sustainable growth through trade in producing countries; and, secondly, the emergence of multi-stakeholder approach at the national level in the form of national VSS platforms in several emerging countries and sharing the lessons learn in holistically discussing strategic approaches to VSS.

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October 2, 2017

Targeting Training in Jiangsu helps Textile Companies Improve Sustainability Along Value Chains

12-13 September 2017, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China — The Environment and Trade Hub, under the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), and in collaboration with the Research Institute for Global Value Chains, International Trade Centre (ITC) and Suzhou Bureau of Commerce, organized a two-day training in Suzhou, on Sustainable Textile Trade and Global Value Chains. Final PAGE Textile Training Agenda The training targeted local textile producers and exporters, as well

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September 15, 2017

UNCTAD’s DSG will Chair Expert Meeting on VSS, Market Access and SDG

The UNCTAD’s Deputy Secretary-General, Mme Isabelle Durant, will Chair this expert meeting on Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) on Wednesday 27 September at the Palais des Nations Room XXV in Geneva. The key questions that will be discussed during the meeting are: How effective have VSS been for sustained, inclusive and sustainable trade? What type of global partnership can help improve VSS’ effectiveness on inclusive and sustainable trade growth? What is the role of a national regulatory framework on VSS? What are key lessons from

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July 6, 2017

Training on Sustainable Trade & Resource Efficiency in Supply Chains in the People’s Republic of China

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in collaboration with the China Association for Standardization (CAS) and the Qingdao Institute of Standardization, organized a two day training workshop (29-30 September, 2017) for experts and practitioners from private and public organizations, to learn about a portfolio of market analysis tools to increase resource efficiency and sustainability in supply chains. The training delivered expertise to companies that wish to develop their business operations and

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June 22, 2017

Launch of the China Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) National Platform, Qingdao, China on June 27 2017

  The Government of China, with the support of UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS), will launch its National Multi-Stakeholders Platform on Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) on June 27, 2017. This event is taking place as the Sub-Forum 1 of the 2017 Qingdao Forum on International Standards. The ceremony will be led by  Mr. Tian Shihong, Administrator,  Standardization Administration of China (SAC), Mr. Liu Yuhua, Director-General, International Trade,  Mininstry of Commerce (MOFCOM), Mr. Ji Zhengkun, President, China Association of Standardization (CAS) and

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May 18, 2017

Launch of the Brazilian Voluntary Sustainability Standards National Platform, supported by UNFSS, May 31, 2017

On May 31 and June 1 2017, Brazil will launch its National VSS platform in Brazilia and Sao Paulo. This initiative is led by theNational Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro) and supported by UNFSS, a joint initiative of five UN Agencies (FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP and UNIDO). The two days discussions first in the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) in Brazilia and then in the Federation of Industries of State of São Paulo (FIESP) in São Paolo will established a

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December 29, 2016

UNFSS releases a new Discussion Paper: Global decisions and local realities: Priorities and producers’ upgrading opportunities in agricultural global production networks

The Discussion Paper no. 7 (https://unfss.org/documentation/discussion-paper-series/) assesses a real-life impact of private sustainability standards (PSS) for cocoa producers in Nicaragua and vegetable farmers in Kenya. Based on interviews standard-complying producers as well as those who had left the standard schemes, the case studies explore the complexities of the tensions between stakeholders’ socio-economic, commercial and environmental priorities. It concludes that priorities projected through stakeholders’ power and embedded relations within global value chains affect what local outcomes – positive

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The UNFSS Report Launch at Berlin

The German Development Institute and its partners in the Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network and the Federation of German Industries (BDI), in collaboration with UNFSS, organised conference to discuss the UNFSS 2nd Flagship report (title) in Berlin (20-22 October 2016). Over 100 participants from Germany, emerging market economies and international organizations actively participated in a multi-stakeholder dialogue on how to make voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) work for sustainable development for all, i.e. for producers, consumers, businesses and the governments. Participants represented national

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