Announcements |
As a uniquely nutritious food source, soybeans have a significant and growing impact on the planet. Butonly a small fraction of soybean production complies with voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) thatcould address some of the sector’s critical enviro...
Blog |
Some brands claim to be sustainable but not all of their products meet the same criteria and transparency gaps abound. How can the average consumer make the right decisions?
Announcements |
Ottawa, June 30, 2020 – Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) have quickly risen to cover a sizeable portion of the world’s most popular natural fibre for textiles—cotton—representing at least 14% of global production, according to a new report from the International Institute for Sustainable...
Announcements |
Ottawa, May 25, 2020 – Banana producers are increasingly using voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) to tackle the sector’s sustainability challenges, including crop diseases, climate change impacts, excessive pesticide use, low farm-gate prices, and poor labour practices, according to a new ...
Blog |
IISD’s latest Global Market Report focuses on one of the world’s most controversial crops: palm oil.
Announcements |
Ottawa, April 28, 2020 – Environmental damage linked to palm oil production has led to consumer boycotts and import restrictions in some markets, but a new study says adhering to voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can mitigate some of the worst environmental impacts of producing the world’...
Announcements |
Ottawa, March 27, 2020 – What are the sustainability issues financial service providers (FSPs) consider important when assessing investment requests from smallholder farmers in developing countries? The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) consulted 51 investors during the s...
Announcements |
Ottawa, January 30, 2020 – Corporate sustainable sourcing commitments of leading food manufacturing companies are increasing demand for voluntary sustainability standard (VSS)-compliant sugar, with the sector experiencing a compound annual growth rate of about 52% from 2008 to 2016, accounting fo...
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.