In 2019, ISEAL carried out a review of the Credibility Principles to determine if the Credibility Principles require revision. This document outlines the findings from the review, which determined that there is a need to revise the Credibility Principles.

Global sustainability challenges are complex problems and determining the best strategies to bring about lasting improvements in sustainability performance remains a core challenge for sustainability systems. Many are increasingly experimenting with a wide range of strategies to reach their sustainability goals. However, the effectiveness of these strategies is highly dependent on the context in which they are applied. 

This Guidance supports sustainability systems to design and implement good practice greenhouse gas emissions accounting, reporting and disclosure strategies for users of their schemes. This approach affords several opportunities for the ISEAL community. The intended users of this Guidance are ISEAL member schemes that are involved in the certification of commodities. The guidance may also be of interest to their communities (certificate holders, applicants, assurance providers, oversight bodies, buyers, governments, civil society and the public).

This guide lays out good practices for developing and implementing benchmarks of voluntary sustainability systems (VSS).

ISEAL, alongside a broad coalition of certification schemes, civil society organisations and businesses, has co-signed a joint letter urging EU policymakers to relaunch trilogue negotiations The EU Green Claims Directive (GCD). 

Bonsucro and Responsible Jewellery Council engaged Business & Human Rights consultancy twentyfifty to conduct a research project into Grievance Mechanisms within Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS). The research investigated how grievance mechanisms have been set up and how grievances are managed and remediated within their memberships.

Tackling gender inequalities is becoming increasingly important for voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) and similar systems to address. Sustainability systems are looking to integrate gender into their standards and the management of their organisations. Sustainability systems that are not gender-responsive can result in unnecessary health and safety risks for women and girls, and lead to unequal impacts and unintended consequences.

This guidance document provides guidance for sustainability systems looking to collect or improve the collection of polygon location data. It was developed with the support of experts and ISEAL members with advanced experience, and includes a variety of different options and technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the ability of many sustainability systems to perform on-site audits. Many have had to implement new policies and adapt to new ways of working. In many ways, this forced many sustainability systems to rapidly innovate during the pandemic, by embracing novel technologies and piloting new approaches to assess sites remotely.  

This guide supports sustainability systems and their assurance partners make decisions about when remote auditing practices are appropriate and desirable, and how to use new technology and data to both inform and then operationalize that choice. It aims to give practical advice based on experiences to date, both on the types of tools and data sources available, as well as some key considerations for successful integration of remote audit technology into assurance processes.

Guidelines, which have been prepared to serve as the basis for discussion on standardized procedures and protocols for the collection and management of certificate location data with the goal that these data will eventually become part of an ISEAL member Certification Atlas (CA).

Bonsucro and Responsible Jewellery Council engaged Business & Human Rights consultancy twentyfifty Ltd to conduct a research project on learning and good practice from the experience of ISEAL Community Members in implementing Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). This briefing note is intended to give a summary of the key findings from this.

This document provides an introduction to the Impact Alliance: Making Impact Happen project, followed by: Background on commodities and the need for impact incentives Outreach and promotional material Surveys, interviews and engagement Insights from surveys, interviews and engagement Translating interest into pilots

This guidance equips sustainability systems with practical tips on how they can make their impact claims more meaningful and effective with confidence and accuracy.

Download the notes from the Inclusion & empowerment breakout session at the ISEAL Global Sustainability Symposium 2024.

The Independent Evaluation Procedure for ISEAL Accreditation Members defines how organisations apply for, and maintain, ISEAL Accreditation Member status under ISEAL’s compliance programme.

ISEAL Community Members can claim to be ISEAL Code Compliant only when they have demonstrated adherence to the baseline and improvement criteria of each of ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice in accordance with the processes and definitions in this procedure.

This roadmap is developed to provide a pathway for all members of the IWSN to achieve the vision and mission of the network which has been aligned with the vision and mission of AWS Global Strategy. The roadmap acts as work program of IWSN which is set in 3 years timeline. The roadmap will help to: Provide clear result framework for IWSN Provide SMART milestones for IWSN

This infographic illustrates the research report authored by AidEnvironment and commissioned by ISEAL. The report is a refresher of the 2016 review and synthesis of literature and evidence of the business benefits of adopting sustainability standards. In total 40 credible source research documents, covering seven sectors were reviewed.

The ISEAL Innovations Fund invites Expressions of Interest for projects that respond to the theme: Market mechanisms for transferring value to small-scale producers and SMEs.This Call for EOIs document contains all the information our members need to apply. Please note: EOIs must be submitted by an ISEAL Community Member, though non-member organisations can be named as project lead. Please also find links to download a brief Summary of this Call, as well as additional guidance documents for this funding round.

ISEAL and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) organised an interactive workshop to foster dialogue and mutual learning on trade and sustainability, focusing on concrete pathways for policymakers and stakeholders to leverage credible sustainability standards in trade policy. This one-day interactive workshop brought together policymakers from developed and developing countries, trade experts, multilateral agencies, NGOs, and representatives from voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) organisations.

ISEAL and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) organised an interactive workshop to foster dialogue and mutual learning on trade and sustainability, focusing on concrete pathways for policymakers and stakeholders to leverage credible sustainability standards in trade policy. This one-day interactive workshop brought together policymakers from developed and developing countries, trade experts, multilateral agencies, NGOs, and representatives from voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) organisations.

Many sustainability systems are testing and implementing different strategies to improve their sustainability performance and to  become more effective in tackling some of the world's most pressing issues. It is becoming clear that there is added value in adopting strategies that address the wider system. These systemic strategies can help organisations have a lasting impact within their context.

In May 2024, ISEAL, in partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), hosted a webinar focused on the integration of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) into trade policy as a tool to advance sustainability goals. Targeting actors across the trade sector, the webinar zeroed in on free trade agreements (FTAs) and presented our jointly produced research.

Sustainability systems represent and support complex supply chains, with a wide variety of commodities, producers and geographies included. Emissions reporting is a complex and fast-moving space. Thus, these systems and their communities may face challenges keeping pace with developments and developing consistent and appropriate good practices that can benefit their communities and climate security.