We often talk about system-level change to address root causes of poverty and imbalance of risk. This requires us to unite in different and creative ways. The Living Income Community of Practice motivates actors across sectors to help close the income gap, so that smallholders can earn a decent standard of living as a basic human right.

This brief presents practical strategies for strengthening monitoring approaches within voluntary sustainability systems, with a focus on promoting inclusion and equity. Drawing on experiences from ISEAL members, it provides actionable insights and examples that can inform more effective and inclusive monitoring and evaluation practices. These learnings are also relevant for businesses, governments, and civil society organisations aiming to support more just and equitable markets.

The ISEAL-funded research project Integrating new data to improve risk assessments and detection of forced labour in agricultural supply chains (2017 – 18) is an attempt to build the evidence base around monitoring and remediating forced labour in agricultural supply chains.

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 series of papers was developed as part of an exploratory workstream investigating the role and maturity of monitoring and measurement in different landscape and jurisdictional initiatives. The papers are targeted towards landscape and jurisdictional practitioners and focus on the practicalities of measurement for landscape and jurisdictional initiatives.

This report looks at the issues facing small certified producers and their expectations and experiences of certification, and explores how standards can address producers’ needs and priorities.

A working paper for the project “New data to detect forced labour in agriculture”.

This report explores the relevance of current trends in technology to sustainability standards – from mobile data collection and the internet of things, to open data and blockchains – and proposes a roadmap for development. 

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.

In this report ISEAL offers insights from three baselines of evaluations that it commissioned in 2015 and were published in June 2016

Sustainability systems are uniquely positioned to advance human rights protections for workers in global supply chains through the identification and verification of risks and instances of forced labour. This core and often elusive step of due diligence is critical to ensure compliance with emerging human rights legislation and credibility of sustainability labels and claims in the global market. 

Small-scale producers are at the sharp end of supply chains. They can - and do - face significant challenges in achieving and maintain a decent standard of living. ISEAL has been engaging with stakeholders about equity and livelihoods in sustainable supply chains. We have opened up conversations on improved incomes for producers within supply chains and unpacked the approaches that work to address the inequities that underpin persistent poverty.

Poverty, low, unpredictable prices and unequal trading relationships affect small-scale producers of cocoa, cotton, and seafood. These challenges are exacerbated by regulation and climate change.Despite the differences between sectors, a living income approach and strategies to close the income gap can enable a decent standard of living. Working towards a living income for small-scale producers can contribute to social, cultural, and environmental benefits and support wider efforts to tackle the underlying cause of poverty.

This round is now closed. In August 2025 The ISEAL Innovations Fund invited 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 works to improve the credibility and impacts of sustainability standards and understanding impacts is an important strategic goal. This paper is the first attempt to draw on internal performance monitoring data of schemes and external research to analyse the reach and characteristics of smallholder farmers within ISEAL member agriculture schemes. This is the third in a series of collective reporting briefing papers researched by ISEAL as part of the ‘Demonstrating and Improving Poverty Impacts’ (DIPI) project. 

This briefing note shares insights and learnings from a series of semi-structured interviews ISEAL conducted with fourteen leading, global companies engaged in living wage actions.

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

This case study highlights how credible voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) support palm oil companies with regulatory requirements such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Featuring the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), it explores how VSS enable traceability, ensure legal production, and promote smallholder inclusion - helping businesses build deforestation-and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains that go beyond compliance.

Small-scale fisheries are a critical source of employment and livelihoods for millions of coastal families and communities, although in many cases, employment is seasonal and alternative sources of income are required. Small-scale fisheries also contribute to local food and nutrition security through the supply of high protein fishery products. However, small-scale fisheries face considerable challenges that limit their potential to contribute to sustainable livelihoods.