Transcript Document

The UN Forum on
Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)
Intergovernmental Forum of Dialogue on Voluntary
Sustainability Standards
ICCO Workshop, Douala, Cameroon June 24-27, 2013
Christopher Wunderlich: UNFSS coordinator
Jutta Steinmann: UNFSS support team
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United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)
Objective:
Effective forum for policy-makers to better understand voluntary
sustainability standards (VSS) and be able to utilize VSSs as potential tools
to support their own sustainable development strategies and goals.
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What are Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS)?
• Mainly developed by private bodies (commercial and non-commercial).
• Typically cover health, safety, environmental, economic, social and animal
welfare issues.
• “Credence characteristics”, i.e. attributes not verifiable through examination of
the product (Production and Processing Methods- PPMs).
• Most prominent in the food and agricultural sector (also significant in
textiles/clothing, toys, timber products, cosmetics, bio-fuels, electronic goods).
• Carbon & water foot-printing and energy and material/resource efficiency
standards are emerging as a new frontier.
Importance of VSS
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• VSS are of key importance for market entry and sustainable development.
•
Real developmental opportunities – strong market dynamics (including
growing private sector interest and participation)
• Unless pro-actively addressed, VSS can potentially become a market
entry hurdle and a serious challenge in particular for small-scale
producers.
Importance of VSS (cont’d)
Voluntary (i.e. private) Sustainability Standards (VSS) are often viewed
as a technicality, when VSS are tools that can be used to:
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Internalize environmental and social costs.
•
Advance sustainable production and consumption methods
(including opportunities for energy/ material/ resource efficiency
and cost savings).
•
Promote competitiveness in the growing and lucrative
“sustainability” markets.
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Market Share of VSS-certified Bananas & Coffee
Source: Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability, UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, D. Giovannucci, S. Scheer et al., NYC, 2012: 17.
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Growth of VSS
Recent Average Annual Growth Rate of Key VSS Markets:
Global
US
5-10 %
10+ %
10-15 %
15-20 %
Fair Trade
35 %
40 %
Utz Certified
30 %
--
Rainforest
105 %
120 %
Conventional Food Markets
2-4 %
3-5%
High-value
Organic
Source: State of Sustainability Initiatives, 2011
Geographical distribution of sustainable
coffee certification, 2011 (mt)
Committee On Sustainability Assessment
Impact Assessment Tools to measure the
costs and benefits of implementing
sustainable certification programs
Economic
Social
Environment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Farmer Livelihoods
Risk & Resilience
Competitiveness
Management
Organizational
1. Health & Safety
2. Working Conditions
3. Education & Training
4. Basic Rights & Equity
5. Inclusive Value Chains
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Resource Use
Waste
Soil Conservation
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Sample: 9 countries, over 4,000 farms, 2 crops (coffee/cocoa) with control groups (2008-2009)
Benefits and Costs of VSS
Benefits of VSS use may arise at different levels:
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Enterprise level
•
Sector level
•
National level
•
International level
Costs and benefits might arise at different points and levels (i.e. those
bearing costs might not necessarily earn many of the benefits). Thus,
governmental task to even out interests.
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Rational for Creating UNFSS
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• VSS as means to Sustainable Development, not as ends in themselves.
• Contextualize VSS into the macro-economic development perspective
(i.e. not only market access and market shares agenda).
• UNFSS should focus on public interest & public goods related to VSS.
• VSS need to be recognized as strategic policy issue
(mitigating economic, food, climate and water crises).
• Understood within overall life cycle of products and related services (looking
at avoidance, minimization and management of ‘real’ risks).
• Also of increasing importance for South-South trade..
• VSS represent a new meta-governance system for international supply
chains, largely outside WTO rules.
Rational for Creating UNFSS (cont’d)
What is important to address is that VSS are scrutinized as:
(i)
proportionate to the (real) risk they claim to address;
(ii) scientifically-based;
(iii) that the burden of compliance is distributed fairly; and
(iv) VSS should not undermine or weaken rules of the WTO’s TBT
(Technical Barriers to Trade) and SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary)
agreements.
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UNFSS Added Value
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• An unbiased and credible policy dialogue that guides and benefits from
analytical, empirical and capacity-building activities.
• Structured to promote “ownership” by developing countries and assure the
“demand-driven nature” of UNFSS activities.
• The only inter-governmental (and multi-stakeholder) forum that deals with
generic and strategic issues of VSS in a consistent and pro-active way.
• Capitalizes on the strengths and specialization of each of the five UN
organizations that partner on UNFSS.
• Better coordination of activities among UN partner organizations.
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UNFSS Structure:
Members of the UNFSS
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Activities of UNFSS (set-up)
• High-level advisory board (multi-stakeholder)
• Briefing sessions to consult and partner with stakeholders in building UNFSS:
Several in Geneva, WTO, UNCTAD XIII
China, Thailand, Panama
Cameroon (with Inter. Cocoa Org.; June 24-27)
Kenya (TBC)
• Official launch of UNFSS- March 21-22nd, 2013 Geneva at Palais des Nations
• Through consultation Advisory Panel prepared draft work plan which was
discussed, adjusted and confirmed at UNFSS launch event:
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Preliminary Activities of UNFSS (from launch)
Action areas identified
Status
Decision-making tool for
policy makers on VSSs
Draft tool (IIED/TSPN), being further developed to
adapt/validate at producer country level.
Flagship report on VSSs
Initial publication almost ready for dissemination
(draft shared with ICCO).
Impact Assessment
working group
Work with exisiting initiatives (COSA etc.), support
interpretation of results for policy
Capacity building activities Begin in pilot countries, link with exisitng
initiatives- (SCAN etc).
Harmonization and
Working group being set-up, building on existing
equivalence working group work (GOMA-organic standards/Global Gap).
Emerging standard
initiative working group
Provide information and promote their relevance and
value to Sustainable Development.
National and regional
Committees linked to
UNFSS
Under development and implementationBuild on
briefings, link to UNFSS.
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For more information:
Website: www.unfss.org
email: [email protected]
Support for the UNFSS provided by:
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