This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the Emissions of Certified Commodities’ suite of guidance documents. This document is specifically aimed at buyers of certified commodities as users, stakeholders, participants and license holders of ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems.

This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the Emissions of Certified Commodities’ suite of guidance documents. This document is specifically aimed at Certificate Holders and potential applicants for certification (henceforth ‘CH/A’) with ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems that have or are commencing on a process to align their certification of commodities and chains of custody models with emissions reporting good practices. The CH/A community for each scheme will reflect the nature of the work entailed.

This document is specifically aimed at Oversight and Assurance Providers to ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems that have or are commencing on a process to align their certification of commodities and chains of custody models with emissions reporting good practices.

This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the emissions of certified commodities’ suite of guidance documents. This document is specifically aimed at ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems who have commenced or are considering commencing on a process to align their certification of commodities and chains of custody models with emissions reporting good practices.

An introduction to ISEAL’s Finance Committee, which was established in 2006 to oversee all issues related to the financial management of ISEAL. The Committee reviews for example ISEAL’s quarterly accounts, annual budgets and other issues related to ISEAL’s financial reporting and performance.

An introduction to the Membership Committee, a permanent committee of the ISEAL Board of Directors that is responsible primarily for forming recommendations on new membership applications, deciding on member disputes that may arise as a result of an independent evaluation of Code Compliance, and deciding on appeals decisions of the Secretariat not to recommend ISEAL Community Member status or to suspend or withdraw Code Compliant status.

An introduction to ISEAL’s Technical Committee. The Technical Committee is a permanent sub-committee of the ISEAL Board that is responsible primarily for technical oversight of the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice and other Credibility Tools.

The ISEAL Innovations Fund launched a call in March 2023 for Community Members to submit expressions of interest for project ideas responding to opportunities for innovation. The types of grants available in this round were:

This report assesses leading metrics for measuring and reporting performance over time and across multiple spatial scales. It examines six critical sustainability issues: deforestation, biodiversity, water use, forced labour, poverty, and greenhouse gas emissions. The research supports sustainability systems in making data-driven outcome claims and provides insight into evaluating metric suitability. The report focuses on applicability of metrics and data sources, best practices, and associated limitations and trade-offs.

This paper discusses how voluntary sustainability standards and certification schemes can play an important role in this smart mix, in particular in terms of supporting supply chain regulation on deforestation.

Download below the PowerPoint presentation for the Practicalities of EU Deforestation  Regulation (EUDR) Implementation breakfast session  at the ISEAL Global Sustainability Symposium 2024

You can view the the detailed programme of the event, featuring speakers and session descriptions, below.               

An Innovations Fund-supported project led by The Copper Mark, carried out between 2023 and 2024, provided a greater understanding of the reality of artisanal and small-scale copper mining (ASCM) in Peru. The report and infographic available to download here are designed to provide useful insights, to generate an open dialogue between all stakeholders of the copper value chain within the framework of sustainable development. 

In an Innovations Fund supported project from September 2023-November 2024, sought to support companies to assess and address human rights risks and impacts in the botanicals sector, and jumpstart scheme-level improvements. Through a gap assessment, UEBT identified points for improvement in their existing frameworks. Training materials developed were used to build internal capacity, and within companies in Turkey’s high-risk supply chains.

In an Innovations Fund supported project from September 2023 to February 2024, Marin Trust carried out a comprehensive impact evaluation to assess whether their activities lead to improved or protected environmental parameters. It focused on the synergies, challenges and factors driving improvement between MarinTrust-certified and MarinTrust Improver Programme factories.

In a project supported by the Innovations Fund from October 2023-March 2025, Better Cotton explored existing principles for GHG data collection, accounting and reporting in agricultural commodity production and how this can be applied inter-operably and inclusively.Discover outputs from this project below.

In 2013, ISEAL launched the Credibility Principles, which provide an international reference for defining the foundations of credible practices for sustainability standards. Since mid-May 2020, we are leading consultations that will expand the scope of the Credibility Principles beyond sustainability standards to a wider range of systems, such as data-based and landscape-based approaches as well as update the scope of the Credibility Principles to reflect current and future trends affecting standards and similar systems.

Since launching in 2013 after extensive global consultations, ISEAL's Credibility Principles have become an international reference for defining the foundations of credible practices for sustainability standards. Starting mid-May 2020, we are leading consultations that will expand the scope of the Credibility Principles beyond sustainability standards to include a wider range of systems, such as data-driven and landscape approaches. We are also updating content to reflect current and future trends affecting standards and similar systems.

The ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems (‘the ISEAL Code’) provides a globally recognised framework that outlines the core components of a credible sustainability system and how they fit together. More than 200 people attended the launch webinar, including representatives from sustainability systems, NGOs, businesses, government, consultants and researchers.

We believe that the credibility of market-based sustainability tools is more important than ever for trade and public policy. But what do we mean by credibility? And what trends and issues are shaping our understanding of credibility going forward?