Announcements |
Ottawa, Thursday December 19, 2019 – The volume of tea produced in compliance with voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent since 2008, reaching at least 19 percent of overall production in 2016. In contrast, conventional tea product...
Blog |
In celebration of World Biodiversity Day, we interviewed Vivek Voora, an associate with IISD working on the State of Sustainability Initiatives, to get his thoughts on how standards can impact biodiversity.
Announcements |
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) launches the second report of the Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series covering the cocoa sector. Ottawa, Thursday November 21, 2019 – With the rapid proliferation of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) in the cocoa sector...
Announcements |
Ottawa, June 6, 2019 – The amount of coffee produced in compliance with voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) is increasing at a higher rate than the overall sector, with significant growth coming from countries with low human development. This according to a new report from the International ...
Blog |
Food security is an intersectional issue. It touches on income, poverty, access to resources, gender-based discrimination and health. With food security being critical to so many facets of a woman’s livelihoods, how can development organizations utilize voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) t...
Blog |
Ensuring certification reaps rewards: the case of a Rwandan coffee cooperative. Participating in certification programs and meeting sustainability standards can have valuable benefits for smallholder farmers and fulfil environmental and social objectives. But what happens when, despite the time a...
Blog |
The demand and supply of standard-compliant products has grown significantly over the last two decades, with over 400 voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) operating across the planet. How can VSS organizations contribute to policy-making on biodiversity protection?
Announcements |
It is with great sadness that we announce that Jason Potts, visionary and leader in championing inclusive sustainability standards, has died. He passed away peacefully on the morning of January 31, 2018 in Montreal, surrounded by his family. “Jason was a much beloved colleague at IISD; everyone a...
Announcements |
ZURICH, June 27, 2017 — Sustainable agriculture practices must be widely implemented in order to stem an alarming loss of biodiversity and to protect endangered species. This is according to the Standards and Biodiversity report released Tuesday by the International Institute for Sustai...
Blog |
Voluntary sustainability standards have a strong potential for supporting efforts to protect biological diversity. But policy makers will have to expand their role beyond mere supporters and users of such initiatives to that of watchdogs and regulators if this potential is to be realized.