India

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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timelapse photo of train
December 15, 2021

Podcast feature: Voluntary sustainability standards and trade in developing countries 

Globalization has brought profound changes to international trade over the last 50 years. Value chains are now spread around the globe and are becoming more complex. Today, about US $8 trillion worth of world trade goes through Global Value Chains (GVCs), accounting for nearly 70% of the total share of global trade. According to UNCTAD’s research, majority of the developing countries are increasingly participating in GVCs. As a result, the developing-country share in global value-added trade increased from 20%

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December 7, 2021

Standards and Poverty Reduction: What role do Voluntary Sustainability Standards play? 

03rd December 2021, Geneva – The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched the report- IISD’s SSI Review: Standards and Poverty Reduction. The report was launched in a joint UNCTAD-IISD webinar, held as a part of IISD Trade + Sustainability Hub, 2021. The report examines the potential of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) operating in the agriculture sector to reduce poverty, which includes a chapter that UNCTAD and IISD wrote jointly on Understanding Smallholder Farmer Access to VSS-compliant Markets.  It is estimated that 80% of the

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February 28, 2018

The Political Economy of Sustainable Palm Oil in China and India

New research looks into emerging markets and private governance, in particular at the case of sustainable palm oil in China and India. Carried out by Dr. Philip Schleifer from University of Amsterdam and Dr. Yixian Sun from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), the study suggested that “private governance programs are now an important source of regulation in global value chains – particularly in the context of North-South trade”. The study posed the

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April 9, 2015

UNFSS participation in events in India – 4th quarter 2014

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.

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UNFSS in CII/IISD Conference – New Delhi, India

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

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May 14, 2014

UNFSS participation in the Standards Conclave – New Delhi, India

Standards Conclave – Role of Standards in International Trade: Challenges, Opportunities & Issues. 16-17 April, 2014, Hotel Shangri-La, New Delhi Arpit Bhutani atttended the event as an observer for the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS). The meeting was a joint initiative of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), partnering with the Bureau of Indian Standards, the Centre for WTO Studies and the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and drawing on some

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