Innovations Fund project portfolio
The Innovations Fund supports projects that explore and test innovative approaches to strengthening the impact and effectiveness of sustainability systems. Explore these projects below, and access available outputs and learnings.
Sustainable traceability for empowered producers
Fairtrade International are creating a simple, scalable traceability system in alignment with regulatory demands that prioritises producer data ownership (November 2024 – October 2026).
Impact incentive market signal research
Working closely with farmers, in this project Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials aim to show how sustainable practices can translate into better incomes for smallholders (November 2024 – October 2026).
Herder connect: empowering animal fibre producers through digital tools
By providing accessible tools and better resources, the Sustainable Fibre Alliance aim to empower Mongolian herders to boost their economic stability, to enhance community resilience (November 2024 – November 2026).
Botanicals premiums for local livelihoods
By introducing premium payments linked to sustainable practices, UEBT aims to encourage sustainable practices and improve incomes for small producers, at scale (November 2024 – October 2026).
Geospatial information technology for outcome verification
By introducing geospatial technology at the field level, Better Cotton aims to enhance verification and visibility of sustainable practices, for smallholder market access and resilience (November 2024 to October 2026).
Exploring the role of standards in driving a responsible transition in steel and mining
A collaboration between Responsible Steel and Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, between August 2024 to August 2025, explores the role of sustainability systems in a socially responsible net-zero transition of...
Ensuring indigenous peoples’ rights to FPIC in assurance for transition minerals
This project by Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance aims to improve standard-setting and auditing tools to ensure that they are rights-based, between August 2024 - July 2026.
Improving wage transparency in cotton through farm-level data collection
Better Cotton led a project (July 2024 - April 2025) to improve wage transparency in cotton production to benefit farm workers.
Improving worker engagement mechanisms in fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing
Monterey Bay Aquarium are leading a project (August 2024 - July 2026) to explore worker engagement systems in the seafood sector to identify insights and strategies to promote worker's voices...
Changing power dynamics in aquaculture through community-based environmental monitoring
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council are co-developing tools for environmental monitoring, to empower communities affected by aquaculture operations (August 2024 - August 2026).