Synchronization of efforts

October 6, 2022

Sustainable Trade and VSS Dialogue: Understanding the role of VSS for advancing the sustainability agenda through the forthcoming UNFSS 5th Flagship Report

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently warned that the world is on brink of a “perfect storm” of crises. The global food, energy, and financial crisis has hit countries that were already reeling from the pandemic and the climate crisis and has pushed back what had been a growing convergence between developed and developing countries. The role of trade for sustainable development has gained greater momentum in addressing these challenges. Today, the concept of sustainable development through trade, standards,

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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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April 7, 2022

Africa prepares to mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards: Launch of the African Continental platform on Voluntary Sustainability Standards

On 6th April 2022, the African Organisation for standardization (ARSO), in collaboration with UNFSS, launched the African Continental platform on Voluntary Sustainability Standards. The platform will promote the development and implementation of sustainability standards, assist Small and Mid-size Enterprises (SMEs) in their implementation, and encourage the establishment of national platforms in ARSO member countries. The launch was conducted virtually and discussed the importance of an established multi-stakeholder platform for collectively assessing VSS’s impact on Africa’s sustained trade growth and sustainable development.

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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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October 24, 2014

UNFSS at the WTO Public Forum 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

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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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June 25, 2014

UNFSS at ICCO’s World Cocoa Conference, Amsterdam

The UNFSS was presented at ICCO’s World Cocoa Conference in Amsterdam on June, 11th, 2014. This global conference for the cocoa sector brings together the governments from the cocoa producing and consuming countries, as well as a wide variety of stakeholders (over 1,200 registered attendees). The UNFSS presentation focused on the joint activities the UNFSS and ICCO had organized over the past year to address the issue of Voluntary Sustainability Standards in this important sector, which included

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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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February 12, 2013

UNFSS Official Launch

  The official public launch of the UNFSS will be held in Geneva on March 21st and 22nd 2013. This will be an opportunity to learn about the goals of this new forum to address the issue of Voluntary Sustainability Standards as a sustainable development tool. As well it will provide an opportunity for participants to express their opinion on priority issues the UNFSS should address and activities it should undertake. Downloads For your reference, below is the official flyer for the UNFSS,

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February 12, 2013

Briefing Sessions

A key activity in establishing the UNFSS are briefing sessions which are now being organized in producer countries. The sessions are designed to present the structure and objectives of the UNFSS. But most importantly, they will focus on consulting with key stakeholders in those countries on their information needs and concerns related to VSSs and their recommendations on how the UNFSS can and should address those issues. The results of these sessions will feed directly into the UNFSS’s work plan. The

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