This is a research report published by ISEAL and authored by Dr Emma Wilson. The report was developed as part of a collaboration between ISEAL and GIZ to support the work of sustainability standards in the metals, mining and minerals sector.

This document sets out how ISEAL works with its Community Members to support them to identify, plan and implement improvements to their system that are feasible and strategically relevant.

This resource explores the concept of adopting a holistic and interconnected framework for managing and utilising data. It highlights how a digital ecosystem approach facilitates collaboration and data sharing across various stakeholders and systems to address complex challenges like ensuring sustainability through origin traceability. 

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), together with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program (SFW), are piloting an improver programme to implement best management practices with the aim of improving farm and zonal management to mitigate critical production risks. This document identifies key lessons from this project.

ISEAL and its partners have done considerable work on measuring household income among small producers within commodity supply chains and certification systems. The Living Income Community of Practice (LICoP), for example, has produced dozens of guidance documents and important lessons on income measurement among smallholder farmers. However, as organisations increasingly align their efforts, they are moving beyond specific producers to supporting income earning among diverse populations within larger landscapes.

ISEAL is seeking qualified professionals to join the Credibility Principles Steering Group to support with the revision of ISEAL’s Credibility Principles in 2020. The deadline to submit this application and CV is 15 January 2020.

Public and private sector stakeholders are increasingly looking to voluntary standards as one of the key tools to deliver their sustainability goals. While voluntary standards are clearly demonstrating their contribution to livelihoods, decent work and preservation of the environment, there is renewed focus on the extent to which these tools can protect and promote core human rights in sectors where they operate. 

This slide deck outlines a presentation of the Delta Project for the ICAC plenary in December 2019, entitled 'Building consensus on sustainability goals and measurements across agricultural commodities: the case of cotton and coffee'.

An examination of both content and scope for the EU Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition.

The ISEAL Innovations Fund and Programme was launched in 2016 to create an enabling environment for innovation, new ideas and strategies to scale the impact, effectiveness, efficiency and inclusiveness of sustainability systems. This learning brief captures some of the key early lessons learned so far.

This document presents the details and outcomes of the consultative events carried out in the development of the Delta Framework.

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. 

The growth and integrity of the sustainable biofuels industry, as well as the interests it seeks to protect, are in jeopardy due to the vulnerabilities in methods it currently uses for tracking transaction claims and verifying their authenticity — as identified by recent biofuel fraud investigations in the Netherlands.

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

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.

The Delta Framework aims to align sustainability monitoring and reporting within and across the cotton and coffee sectors. It provides a common set of indicators to measure and communicate sustainability improvements. This document is a summarized version of the Delta Indicators.

Regulatory pressure is growing for companies to have more sustainable supply chains. Such rules have great potential. They could change the incentive structure of the market, allowing companies to overcome competition hurdles that have hampered sustainability action in the past. But beyond the right market conditions, companies also need credible solutions that enable efficient compliance with the rules and help realise the intended sustainability impacts.