Working toward more transparent and sustainable forms of production, consumption and trade.

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Increasing market access of small-holder farmers, fostering gender equality and contributing to environmental conservation by leveraging voluntary sustainability standards.

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Latest from SSI

Delve deeper into our latest reports and announcements.

Global Market Report: Soybean

The eighth report of IISD’s Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series presents the sustainable production and consumption market information on the soybean sector.

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Global Market Report: Cotton

The seventh report of IISD’s Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series presents the sustainable production and consumption market information on the cotton sector.

Global Market Report: Bananas

The sixth report of IISD’s Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series presents the sustainable production and consumption market information on the banana sector.

Global Market Report: Palm Oil

The fifth report of IISD’s Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series presents the sustainable production and consumption market information on palm oil.

Expert Consultation with Financial Service Providers: : Understanding the sustainability issues agricultural producers need to consider to be investment-ready and access finance

This report takes the challenge of analyzing access to finance from a specific angle: that of the importance that investors assign to sustainability criteria when assessing financial requests from agricultural producers of developing countries. This study is based on an expert consultation with 51 FSPs carried out by IISD during spring/summer 2019.

Global Market Report: Sugar

The new report is the fourth in IISD’s Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series, which presents sustainable production and consumption market information on agricultural commodities to foster transparency, knowledge and strategic decision making for sustainable development.

Global Market Report: Tea

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.

Global Market Report: Cocoa

The cocoa report is the second in the Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series from IISD, which presents sustainable production and consumption market information on agricultural commodities to foster transparency, knowledge and strategic decision-making for sustainable development.

Standard-Compliant Coffee Production Rising, with Growth from Least Developed Countries

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.

Standards and the Extractive Economy

This report examines voluntary sustainability initiatives and their aim to promote sustainable production practices in the mining sector.

Standards and Biodiversity

The Standards and Biodiversity Report analyzes the criteria and market coverage of 15 major agricultural voluntary sustainability standards against key biodiversity parameters.

Leveraging Standards for Gender Equality in Agriculture

This guidebook examines the potential of voluntary sustainability standards to support the achievement of SDGs related to gender equality and provides recommendations for development organizations working toward that goal.

Should Farmers Who Follow Sustainable Practices Be Rewarded?

Meeting sustainability standards can have valuable benefits for smallholder farmers, but what happens when the product fails to sell?

Can Sustainability Standards Help Protect the World's Biodiversity?

Protecting our biodiversity is a complex challenge many voluntary sustainability standards are trying to address. We look at their strengths and weaknesses.

Commodities Coverage

Our current work highlights eight agricultural commodities complying with voluntary sustainability standards, focusing on global sustainable consumption and production.

Coffee

Banana

Cotton

Cocoa

Palm Oil

Soybean

Sugar

Tea

View All Commodities