The only way to solve the sustainability challenges that we face today – from deforestation to biodiversity loss to inequality and poverty – is through greater collaboration, collective action, and innovation. We believe that sustainability systems are an important part of this solution by driving the sustainable transformation of complex commodity sectors and global supply chains. But to remain effective and add value, sustainability systems need to constantly push boundaries.

For companies working to improve sustainability performance within their supply chains, engaging in landscape and jurisdictional approaches is a way to take action at scale. This set of guiding practices for effective company actions in landscapes and jurisdictions aims to support companies taking this step.

This research briefing aiming to inform practice is based on primary research by ISEAL over the last two years and is part of ISEAL’s project with IDH on strengthening sustainability standards to advance living wage goals. This report was written by Kate Robinson of The Outcome Gap, with editorial support from Vidya Rangan, at ISEAL.

This report provides an endline status of the ISEAL-BSR project ‘Improving data and impact measurement for women in supply chains project’, which aimed to support standards in mainstreaming gender equality within their strategy, tools and systems.

To voice our support for credible claims that are transparent, clear and accurate, ISEAL developed communication notes shared with the EU Council and EU Parliament to outline our key concerns and points of interest.

A technical submission by ISEAL to EU policymakers on the EU Green Claims Directive: Ahead of the trilogue meetings, ISEAL is sharing its perspective and suggested amendments on the texts proposed by the European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament.  This technical submission reiterates our longstanding support for the Commission's efforts to introduce more stringent regulations to tackle greenwashing, enabling consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions.

There is a strong need for a regulatory approach that allows for product component and whole-of-product claims.

The Good Practice, Better Finance project is an ISEAL Alliance (ISEAL) funded project that aims to develop and test methodologies, as well as improve monitoring tools, which would allow for improved access to affordable finance for farmers. This improved access would be through reward systems based on the integration of farmers’ risk management and sustainability strategies with financial institutions’ own risk assessment frameworks.

Equity is defined as ensuring fairness in the distribution of resources, opportunities, and benefits. Equity requires that all members of society, including future generations, have access to the same rights and opportunities to maintain a decent quality of life. Equity is fundamental to sustainability; without equity, it is not possible to effectively and sustainably uphold human rights, improve livelihoods, or protect the environment.

The EU Forced Labour Regulation (FLR), formally adopted in December 2024 as Regulation (EU) 2024/3015, establishes a ban on placing or making available on the EU market, or exporting from the EU, products made with forced labour. This brief covers background on the file and role of credible Voluntary Sustainability Systems (VSS) in supporting  

This executive summary offers lessons learned on how interoperability of sustainability standards in the metals, minerals and metals (MMM) sectors can help standards systems in other sectors. In particular, it explores how MMM, forestry and agriculture standards can enhance collaboration and improve sustainability impacts through interoperability.

These frequently asked questions are based on those raised during the launch webinar for the revised ISEAL Chain of Custody Models and Definitions Guidance v2. Similar questions were grouped together to reflect the key themes discussed. 

Frequently asked questions about the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems

In 2019, ISEAL carried out a review of the Standard-Setting and Impacts Codes. Through the review, ISEAL gathered information regarding the usability of the Codes, their effectiveness in delivering against their objectives, as well as their scope and objectives. This document details the activities carried out as part of the review and the findings.

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.

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. 

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. 

The framework can help sustainability standards and other sustainability initiatives navigate the types and intensity of collaboration and interoperability using the metals, minerals and mining sectors as examples.

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 paper presents the findings of a structured review of the GHG aspects of the standards of the four members of the M3 Standards Partnership1—the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), ResponsibleSteel and Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM)—as well as a variety of other organizations in the mining, minerals and metals sector. It also reports on the responses to a detailed survey of leading mining companies drawn from the M3 Partnership’s memberships.

This document provides a system for replicating the land use cover monitoring and analysis system developed by the Blueprint Project. The document aims to summarize the steps to replicate the land cover analysis in the same pilot area (Zona Bananera municipality, Magdalena, Colombia) as general guidance to apply it in other productive agricultural regions in tropical or subtropical zones, and facilitate the development of a land use cover monitoring system in accordance with the objective, scale, and level of local studies to be implemented over time.

In 2019, the ISEAL Innovations Fund awarded a grant to Bonsucro to collaboratively develop and test methodologies to help financial service providers improve how they assess their agricultural clients’ sustainability performance, to enable access to better financing opportunities for farmers who produce sustainably. Project partners included the Better Cotton Initiative, and the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS).

This slide deck provides an overview of the Good Practice, Better Finance project. 

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