The Convention will be opened by welcome notes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the joint organizers,

• Eduardo Eugenio Gouvea Vieira, President of FIRJAN
• Angela Flores Furtado, President of INMETRO
• Santiago FernandezdeCordoba, UNFSS Coordinator/ UNCTAD
• André Odenbreit Carvalho, Director of International Economic Institutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Gustavo Ribeiro, APEX
• Vera Thorstensen, Professor FGV-SP and President of Brazil’s Technical Barriers Committee CONMETRO

The ambiguous effect of sustainaiblity standards systems could potentially be measured against its linkages with the 2030 SDGs. This keynote speech will be led by renowned experts in this subject area, who will be addressing the relationship between trade, standards and sustainable development.

• Axel Marx, Deputy Director at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, University of Leuven
• Junji Nakawaga, Professor of International Economic Law at the Chuo Gakuin University

Industry actors have the potential to leverage standards in international trade in order to drive sustainable development. In this discussion, industry actors will share their views on what is implied as sustainable production and how it can ignite exports, thus touching on the economic projection of sustainable production and consumption, and other codes of conduct.

• Ana Carolina Szklo, Technical Development Director of Brazil Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS)
• André Ramalho, Sustainability Specialist at Braskem 
• Leandro Barcelos, Policy and Industry Analyst at the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI)

Moderated by Alessandro Amadio, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

This panel will explore the role of VSS in food and agriculture systems and how it could be used as an enabler in food trade and sustainable food value chains. Chaired by FAO, the discussion will be steered towards improving the alignment between international agriculture trade rules and VSS, as well as investments in upgrading the certification infrastructure and technical capabilities of developing countries.

• Lucia Helena Wadt, Manager Research at Embrapa
• Miguel Hernandez, Director Latin America at Bon Sucro
• Carlos Renato, President of BRFAIR (Fairtrade International Brazil)
• Camila Torres Meyer, International Trade Analyst at APEX

Moderated by Ahmad Mukhtar, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations

The launch of the first Brazilian VSS publication will be inaugurated with a presentation by Rogerio Corrêa, VSS Desk Officer/ Dolores Brito, Executive Analyst of INMETRO. The study covers four of Brazil’s important product groups, i) leather, ii) fruits, iii) nuts and, iv) vegetable oils such as andiroba, babaçú, carnaúba and copaíba, whose path and good practices project the epitome of sustainable global value chains.

Following the presentation of the Brazilian VSS Story, representatives of the 4 selected product groups will share their field experiences and their perception of sustainability standards as export potential. Through this discussion, representatives will also be using this dialogue as an opportunity to voice the kind of support they need from the governmental institutions and international actors.

• Alvaro Flores, Brazilian Center of Leather Processing Industries (CICB)
• Eduardo Roxo, Atina Ativos Naturais Ltda.
• Fernanda Stefani, 100% Amazonia Açai
• José Camargo, President of the Brazilian Association of Nuts

Moderated by Gunter Viteri, GIZ/ECO-CONSULT/IPAM

Brazil is one of the major exporters of agricultural products however, the environmental footprint of this production is being questioned by the international community. The challenge at hand is the intensive transition of the business sector to more sustainable practices, reducing the biodiversity impact and the ecosystem dependencies. This panel will focus on the discussions for sustainable trade in the context of Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado, lessons learnt, and opportunities for sustainability standards, such as business establishment metrics for biodiversity in their supply-chains, and its significance to market access and its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Bernardo Strassburg, Executive Director of the International Institute for Sustainability
• Luiz Antonio Brasi, Imaflora
• Ronaldo Freitas, Latin America Representative at the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT)
• Raoni Silva, Supply Chain Coordinator at Natura
• Filipe Lopes Salomao, Government Affairs, Sustainability Dept at Boticario Group

Moderated by Matheus Couto, United Nations Environment

Responsible sourcing decisions in green value chains have a variety of functions that support our ecosystem. This panel will address the impact of sustainable natural resource management on global value chains while looking at its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a key to unlock new markets. This panel will also highlight the fundamentals of traceability and chain of custody.

• Daniela Vilela, Technical Coordinator at FSC
• Herbert Kanashiro, Sustainability Analyst at GS1 Brazil
• Thorsten Arndt, Head of Communications at PEFC

Moderated by Ruby Lambert, United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)

Rodrigo Ruperez / Huascar Ajata from the Andean Community will present the study of VSS for the Andean Community as a means to promote sustainable value chains and how VSS can be an effective tool to export its novel foods internationally. This presentation can shed some light with regards to VSS for the entire Latin American community. Through shared experiences and best practices, dialogues on VSS can be advanced tremendously.

When addressing the challenges and opportunities of Standards in Global Value Chains, it is also crucial to ask questions like how to better facilitate the uptake of VSS among smallholders and MSMEs in order for them to enter the global value chains as these actors are typically positioned at the lower end of the chain. Thus, the discussion is anticipated to steer the much needed coherence of governmental policies to institutionalize the implementation of sustainability standards so that they can improve the uptake for these marginalized actors.

• Mariana Barbosa, Country Leader of the Rainforest Alliance
• Alice Correa, Certification and Standards Committee at ProTerra Foundation
• Carlos Brito Soares, Sourcing Director of Frooty Açai 

Moderated by Joseph Wozniak, International Trade Centre (ITC)

Do Governmental agencies have a role in promoting VSS in order to achieve the SDGs? How can they support in raising the awareness? Some of the established National Platforms will be sharing their insights and experiences as they contextualise the existing multilateral frameworks of sustainable trade. These National Platforms are in the right position to exchange good sustainability standards practices among each other, and other potential platforms.

• Liu Xin, Standardization Administration of China
• Manish Pande, Quality Council of India
• Yvonne Ndlhovu, Specialist at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
• Rogerio Corrêa, Desk Officer of INMETRO

Moderated by Wulf Reiners, German Development Institute (DIE)

This panel will highlight the understanding of what is perceived as the role of standardization bodies and how it can significantly contribute to sustainable development. VSS in this context will be discussed critically as standards setters will address the global issues of transparency and multiplicity of standards. Working alongside standardization bodies, policy options such as mutual recognition of standards can potentially ease the complexities surrounding the requirements of these standards. An important question to look into, ‘Is it possible to develop an international framework for sustainability standards?’.

• Norma Tregurtha, Director, Policy and Partnerships of ISEAL Alliance
• Ben Carson, Technical Group at the International Organization of Standardization (ISO)
• Nate Osburn, Director of Communications at ASTM International
• Guy Ladvocat, Systems Certification Manager at the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT)
• Cintia Cespedes, Project Manager at UL Brazil

Moderated by Santiago FernandezdeCordoba, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Looking at the many dynamics deriving from the world of sustainability standards, how can we make VSS fair for all actors in the value chains? A mix of panelists from both public and private, international and local with diverse sets of expertise is crucial for the community to anticipate what is at stake in the future. Thus, this panel will address ways we can leverage these standards to make sure what we can provide today will facilitate the future generations to either keep up or be even better at sustainable development.

• Cristina Larrea, Sustainability Standards Workstream Lead a the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
• Engela Schlemmer, Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
• Vera Thorstensen, Professor FGV-SP and President of Brazil’s Technical Barriers Committee CONMETRO

Moderated by Aimee Rusillo, VSS Expert

Conclusions derived from the two days convention and how this can steer a working together relationship among the different stakeholders. UNFSS Steering Committee Members will also share some relevant on-going projects in the region (and global), followed by INMETRO’s final comment.

• Axel Marx, Deputy Director at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, University of Leuven
• Junji Nakawaga, Professor of International Economic Law at the Chuo Gakuin University
• Joseph Wozniak, UNFSS
• Jorge Peron, Sustainability Manager of FIRJAN

Moderated by Santiago FernandezdeCordoba, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Rogerio Corrêa, National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO)

(By Invitation only)

This workshop aims at setting the VSS and value chains discussion in the context of the implementation of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. VSS are more closely related to 9 of the 17 SDGs. The goal is to set the background of the discussion and identify the intertwines of the related SDGs and how the stakeholders can cooperate towards optimizing the implementation of sustainable global  value chains. Additionally, to identify if there are other stakeholders that need to be mobilized and brought on board.

Facilitated by Flávia Amorim, Expert

(By Invitation only)

The sectorial dialogue workshop intends to construct partnerships among the National Platforms, governmental bodies and sectorial stakeholders to set up: projects, a working group focused in discussing VSS and ways of helping smallholders to overcome technical barriers related to: VSS, certification, strategic planning, project managing, standards and technical regulation awareness.

Facilitated by Gunter Viteri, Expert