Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Sustainability and the wisdom of crowds 11 th National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development: Achieving the Great Transition: growing the low carbon economy in the Asia Pacific Dr. Sasha Courville Executive Director ISEAL Alliance

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Introducing the ISEAL Alliance A driving force to scale up the impacts A dynamic network of standards systems Internationally recognised guidelines First rate research and capacity building

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Members of the ISEAL Alliance Eleven members in full compliance with ISEAL Membership Criteria (including compliance with existing ISEAL Codes of Good Practice and other internationally recognised guidance including ISO Guide for Accreditation Members) Eleven newer members have committed to demonstrate full compliance within 1-3 years from the date of membership approval. More information on membership:

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Members of the ISEAL Alliance

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Standard-Setting Verification Traceability What are Voluntary Standards Systems? Capacity Building Organisations  Stakeholders Standard-Setter Accreditation Body Certification Body Traceability System Label Producer/ Enterprise Manufacturer Retailer Consumer Capacity Building Communications

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Bringing people together to achieve sustainability outcomes… ….some lessons learned >Multi-stakeholder governance is critical –Common Shared Objectives –No single interested party can dominate processes or decision-making; –Clear and transparent rules of engagement >Time-bound commitments with enforceable verification >We need to create a culture of learning

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Creating Global Alignment among sustainability schemes >This space is getting really crowded! >Challenges of limited resources, stakeholder fatigue, etc.. >We need tools to differentiate credible initiatives from greenwash >Specialised scopes and strengths of each scheme but pressures to expand work (mission creep) >Leadership emerging to create comprehensive frameworks and databases to link sustainability initiatives together by product or service, sustainability issue, supply chain, etc..

Scaling up the impacts of social and environmental standards systems Expanding the role of voluntary standards systems in achieving social justice and ecological sustainability Thank You Sasha Courville