ISEAL has developed a draft good practice framework to support sustainability systems to strengthen the effectiveness of improvement strategies.

The Impacts Code of Good Practice, for Assessing the Impacts of Social and Environmental Systems.

As part of its ongoing engagement with EU policymakers, ISEAL submitted targeted input to the European Parliament on the Omnibus Package, specifically addressing the proposed amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).Our recommendations aim to support the directive’s simplification objective while ensuring that effectiveness, inclusiveness, and alignment with international standards are not compromised.

ISEAL Insight terms and conditions

On 17 November 2021, the European Commission published its Proposal for a Regulation on Deforestation-free Products
(hereafter “the Proposal”). This position paper outlines how ISEAL believes this draft legislation should be adjusted to have a deeper impact on preventing deforestation.

ISEAL has contributed to the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group's (EFRAG) public consultation on the amended European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) exposure drafts.ISEAL welcomes EFRAG's efforts to simplify the ESRS and reduce datapoints while retaining the core objectives of the EU Green Deal. ISEAL notes how voluntary sustainability systems (VSS) strategically algin with EFRAG's ESRS objectives.

In 2021, ISEAL worked with seven different sustainability schemes to conduct ten field-based pilot audits in different country-sector combinations around the world. The objectives of these pilot audits were two-fold: to provide participating schemes the opportunity to test the use of the Salary Matrix and accompanying IDH Verification Guidelines with certified entities and to provide IDH learnings and recommendations for these pilots to improve these Roadmap’s tools.

Interpretation of the clause 6.4.3 on recognition of existing standards.

The latest version (version 6, revised in December 2014) of the ISEAL Standard-Setting Code of Good Practice, for Setting Social and Environmental Standards.

In response to the EU proposal for a Green Claims Directive, this statement intends to go further in establishing robust credibility criteria, by promoting multistakeholder participation, and supporting clear pre-approval and verification processes for sustainability schemes. 

ISEAL has responded to the European Commission’s public consultation on the EU Nature Credits Roadmap.ISEAL welcomes the EU’s efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by mobilising private finance toward measurable and transparent outcomes. We encourage the recognition of ISEAL’s Credibility tools as a foundation for the nature credits roadmap. 

ISEAL has contributed to the UK’s Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) consultation. The consultation sought views on the exposure draft UK SRS, which are based on IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. 

This checklist distils key steps in the guidance for setting up and implementing a sustainability benchmarking exercise or programme.

Going further in establishing robust credibility criteria, promoting multistakeholder participation, and supporting clear pre-approval and verification processes for sustainability schemes. This paper reiterates our longstanding support for the Commission’s efforts to introduce more stringent regulations to tackle greenwashing, enabling consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. We would also like to share our views on the proposal and suggest some amendments to make it even more effective.

This guidance document offers suggestions as input for consideration for the recent EUDR guidelines on the use of certification. ISEAL has built a broad-based consensus around what constitutes credible operating practices for sustainability certification schemes. Our Code of Good Practice captures this consensus in a publicly available normative document against which all ISEAL Code compliant members have been evaluated.

Please submit your application and CV no later than 11 August 2025 to Eleanor Radford, Manager, Engagement and Events: eleanor@isealalliance.org

The latest version of ISEAL's Training and Events Terms & Conditions.

ISEAL可信度原则2版 2021 ISEAL Credibility Principles V2 2021 - Chinese 

The representatives of IAF, ISEAL, UNDP and the Conformity Assessment Body Associations (IIOC, IQNET and TIC Council) have signed a joint statement about the role of standards and accredited conformity assessment on sustainability assurance. This collaborative effort aims to address urgent sustainability challenges by emphasising the vital role of consensus-based standards and accredited conformity assessment in driving positive impact.

A document describing the key findings from Training Needs and Landscape  Assessment of Shrimp Sector in East Java, Indonesia, as part of the Innovations Fund project Integration of Seafood Certification and Jurisdictional Assurance Models, supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

A short paper describing the key learnings from ResponsibleSteel's Recognition Process. 

This report presents the findings and recommendations from the Blueprint Project. Blueprint describes the sustainability status of municipalities with a combination of high-precision visual classification of land cover types, and interviews with a representative sample of local stakeholders to reflect the economic, social, and environmental reality on the ground. It illustrates sustainability challenges and flags opportunities from the perspective of the inhabitants of a territory.

This report reports on the pilot phase of the Landscape Assessment Framework in the context of the Sustainable Cocoa Landscapes project in San Martin, Peru. The social indicators that have been proposed by Max Havelaar / Flocert based on the prioritized social issues for the landscapes (see documents "social study of the landscapes" and "social issues in the Mariscal Caceres landscape") have been applied as a test in the landscape. The process followed for this pilot phase is summarized in paragraph 2, and the process of validation of the indicators is presented in paragraph 3.