The 2nd Flagship Report of UNFSS seeks to further dissect the interplay between VSS and public governance processes by striving to answer the following question: What are the optimal dynamics between public policy processes and voluntary sustainability standards to ensure sustainability objectives are most effectively met? In Chapter I, the report delineates how VSS can optimally contribute towards more sustainable patterns of development. In particular, it explores: 1) How can governments effectively support or engage with VSS in such a way that VSS contribute for
July 7, 2016
UNFSS took part at the China High Level Sustainability Standards and Certification Development Forum
Last week, representatives from United Nations agencies, Chinese and foreign government agencies, the business community, and the world’s leading sustainability standards explored in Beijing the opportunities and challenges for developing and implementing sustainability standards systems in the Chinese context. On behalf of the steering committee of the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS), and therefore of all five UN partner organizations of UNFSS, delivered an opening remarks at the Forum. Sustainability standards have become globally recognised tools for implementing sustainable
March 15, 2016
On 18 March the Government of India launched a national platform on private sustainability standards. The platform was supported by UNFSS, a joint initiative of five UN Agencies (FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP and UNIDO). The Quality Council of India (QCI) and UNFSS have agreed to collaborate on setting up a National Platform on PSS in India. The Quality Council of India (QCI) is the national quality facilitation and accreditation body, set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government
August 4, 2015
We are happy to announce the addition of 3 new Discussion Papers to the UNFSS Discussion Paper Series: UNFSS Discussion Paper #4 Public-Private Collaboration on Policy, Standards, Regulations and Trade Facilitation for Organic Agriculture, by Diane Bowen, in collaboration with Ulrich Hoffmann UNFSS Discussion Paper #5 Plurilateral Regulatory Cooperation on Organic Agriculture and Trade, by Diane Bowen, in collaboration with Ulrich Hoffmann UNFSS Discussion Paper #6 Assuring Coherence between the Market-access and Livelihood Impact of Private
The UNFSS Working Group on Enhancing Interoperability of Sustainability Standards takes special interest in scaling up equivalence among sustainability schemes. Equivalence is especially crucial in the organic sector, where governments regulate organic standards and trade, and can erect barriers to trade when applying these regulations to imports. Currently there are 13 bilateral equivalence arrangements among regulating countries. UNFSS took the opportunity at BioFach, the world’s largest international organic trade fair and Congress, to facilitate presentation and discussion
April 9, 2015
The UNFSS was present at the following events in India in the last quarter of 2014: 29-30 October 2014 – Conference on Trade, Transport and Transit Facilitation in South Asia: Imperative of Bridging Macro-Meso-Micro Gaps between India and Bangladesh. The conference was held at the Hotel Lalit Great Eastern in Kolkata, India, and organised by CUTS International. Mr. Bhutani was a panellist in the session on Standards and Transport related Barriers to Trade Facilitation between Bangladesh and India.
November 14, 2014
The UNFSS Working Group on enhancing interoperability of VSS focuses on organic agriculture as a sector that provides leading edge examples of innovation and impact of standards and technical regulations towards achieving environmental, social and economic goals. Organic agriculture and trade, which has come to be regulated by governments, now crucially depends on collaboration between those governments, the private sector and civil society. At the IFOAM Organic World Congress, held from 13-15 October 2014 in Istanbul and drawing
October 24, 2014
The UNFSS participated in a session of the WTO Public Forum 2014 under the topic “Voluntary Sustainability Standards: Building Equity in and Access to Sustainable Markets” on 3 October 2014 at the WTO headquarters, Geneva. The session was hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the State of Sustainability Initiatives (SSI). Panelists included representatives from the UNFSS, the Sustainable Commodity Assistance Network (SCAN), Smallholders’ Access to Markets for Certified Sustainable
UNFSS addresses CII/IISD Conference on Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Its Impact on India and Developing Nations in New Delhi, India on 12 August 2014. Ulrich Hoffmann, Coordinator of the UNFSS, was invited by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development to make a presentation on the importance of private sustainability standards for market access, their role as governance tool in international supply chains and their contribution to achieving specific sustainable
July 31, 2014
Frank Grothaus of the UNFSS support group attended this meeting, organized by the Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE) – a joint Protestant-Catholic advocacy group in the area of development policy – on June 2nd, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. The objective of the expert hearing was to discuss the challenges and opportunities of international food standards – in particular private food standards – in the context of market participation of smallholder farmers, poverty eradication, food security and
