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TSPN Member Activities
WWF: palm oil score card 2011
8 Dec 11 WWF’s Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard 2011 measures over 130 major retailers and consumer goods manufacturers by looking at their commitment to, and use of, palm oil certified to the internationally recognised standards of the RSPO.
First coffee farm to be Rainforest Alliance verified™ as climate friendly
8 Dec 11 El Platanillo coffee farm in San Marcos, Guatemala, has become the world’s first coffee farm to become Rainforest Alliance Verified™ for its compliance with the Climate Module of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), the international coalition of conservation organizations that manages Rainforest Alliance certification.
SAI & ICCO working to operationalize UN guiding principles for business and human rights
8 Dec 11 SAI & ICCO will collaborate on a handbook and toolkit to help businesses implement the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.
ITC: Webinar on Standards Map
10 Nov 11 The ITC Trade For Sustainable Development team is organizing a webinar session to demo the Standards Map tool functionalities on November 15th and 23rd
ISEAL: Consultation period for new code of good practice opened
4 Nov 11 ISEAL is developing a new Code of Good Practice that aims to make assurance a more effective tool to support social and environmental impact.
SA8000® approved by Dutch sustainable public procurement
3 Nov 11 The SAI standard SA8000® will be integrated into the social criteria for public procurement of the Dutch government.
Interview with Katherine Bostick, WWF
6 Oct 11 For the October issue we interviewed Katherine Bostick, Senior Program Officer for World Wildlife Fund’s Aquaculture Program.
ISEAL Annual Report
5 Oct 11 On 22 September 2011 ISEAL published its first Annual Report, pointing out ISEALs work on the Impact Code.
PEGNet Conference 2011: "Poor Countries, Poor People, and the New Global Players"
5 Oct 11 The Poverty Reduction, Equity, and Growth Network (PEGNet) conference 2011 on poor countries, poor people, and the new global players was held at the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, Germany, September 7 to 9, 2011.
Independent Evaluation of TSPN 2011
4 Oct 11
WWF: Sustainable palm oil milestone reached ahead of major WWF evaluation
2 Sep 11 The world’s largest sustainable palm oil body reached a major milestone last week in its on-going efforts to halt deforestation and bring sustainable palm oil to market – the millionth hectare of plantations has just been certified, an area roughly equivalent in size to the nation of Jamaica.
SAI: Building a complaints management system at a banana farm
2 Sep 11 A core message conveyed through "SAI's Project Cultivar: Advancing Labor Rights in Agriculture in the CAFTA-DR region" is that compliance with labor standards leads to stronger internal communication and improved internal resolution of complaints.
Worldbank: Making the grade: Smallholder farmers, emerging standards, and development assistance programs in Africa
1 Sep 11 The report highlights both opportunities and challenges associated with smallholders accessing markets characterized by varying specificity and stringency of standards.
IISD publication: "Strengthening measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) for REDD+"
9 Aug 11 This paper explores the challenges and opportunities for the development of a robust measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system for REDD+ activities, and provides options for moving forward in both the negotiation and implementation of MRV for REDD+.
Interview with Eileen Kohl Kaufman, SAI
9 Aug 11 Eileen Kohl Kaufman is executive director at Social Accountability International (SAI). She gives us an insight in the work of SAI and tells us among others about the SA8000 standard, developed by SAI.
ITC publication: "The impacts of private standards on producers in developing countries"
8 Aug 11 The question of how standards impact trade is more relevant than ever. Against the background of a world economy that is global in scope and organization with economic activities being spread across national boundaries, the liberalization of trade has been one factor contributing to a policy shift from import substitution to export-led growth strategies.
IFC: updated sustainability framework
8 Aug 11 In May the Board of Directors of the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) approved the updated IFC sustainability framework, that is now available and will enter into force by the beginning of 2012.
CIRAD: Working on more sustainable banana production in West India
11 Jul 11 The "Sustainable banana " plan officially launched in 2008 by the Ministry of Agriculture, on the initiative of producers in the West Indies, set out to reduce chemical pesticide use by an extra 50% between 2006 and 2013 and to encourage the use of environmentally friendly cropping methods.
Sustainablity standards in China
11 Jul 11 At the ISEAL Conference 2011 in June several representatives from GIZ, FSC and SAI gave an insight to their work within the session „Sustainablility Standards in China – the way forward“.
SAI: SC meeting: Scaling up Indian CSR initiatives
1 Jul 11 On June 21, 2011 the second Steering Committee meeting of the partnership "Scaling Up Indian CSR Initiatives" took place in Brussels with particpants from GIZ, BSCI and SAI.
TSPN-Interview with Gianluca Gondolini, Rainforest Alliance, Costa Rica
10 Jun 11 Gianluca Gondolini is project manager at Rainforest Alliance, Costa Rica. He gives us an insight in the work of Rainforest Alliance, tells us about the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and the SAN climate module.
Trade Standard Compliance Report "Meeting Standards, Winning Markets"
8 Jun 11 This report focuses on the challenges faced by developing countries in complying with key trade-related standards, technical regulations and private standards in international trade, estimates the resulting export losses and then relates these compliance challenges and losses to an analysis of developing countries´capacity to establish and prove their compliance, and to the cost of strengthening such capacity
SAI annual report 2010
6 Jun 11 SAI launched its annual report 2010 "Human Rights at Work" with contributions from its programs in Brazil, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India and Nicaragua.
Reduction of water use through "Cotton-made-in-Africa" (CmiA)
6 Jun 11 For the production of CmiA-cotton only rainwater is used - according to a study conducted by WWF this is the crucial reason for substantial water savings: For the production of the amount of cotton which is needed to produce one T-Shirt 1585 gallons of water can be saved.
The Better Work program
13 May 11 Better Work is a unique partnership program between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Launched in February 2007, the program aims to improve both compliance with labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains.
Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP)
13 May 11 The Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP) seeks to reduce the threats to biodiversity through agriculture by leveraging market forces at all levels of the value chain and finally decrease the impact of production on biodiversity.
Governanace and Standards in the Agri-food System
13 May 11 CS3 Recognition - Journal of Rural Social Sciences, Volume 25, Number 3, 2010: This issue reflects the growing international impact of the MSU Center for the Study of Standards in Society (CS3, formerly the Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards, IFAS), founded and headed by Prof. Lawrence Busch, Department of Sociology, Michigan State University.
ITC standards map - status update & webinar
11 May 11 Following the release of the Standards Map website on 1st February, more than 7’500 unique visitors have accessed the website, analyzed the research material and used the analysis tool to review the detailed information on the 30 standard systems that are currently referenced in the Standards Database.
New FAO publication: Private standards and certification in fisheries and aquaculture
9 May 11 This publication deals with emerging issues and current practices reagarding private standards and certification in the fishery sector.
FAO Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA)
5 May 11 In the recent years more and more countries have developed national strategies for sustainable development and many companies commit themselves to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. Building on existing efforts, FAO develops a Sustainability Framework including guidelines for food value chain modeling.
Substantial increase for Rainforest Alliance in 2010
5 May 11 Rainforest Alliance is engaged in more than 70 countries. During the last year its programs on sustainable agriculture, forestry education, climate and tourism showed a significant growth.
Interview with Ruth Nyagah, AfriCert (TSPN-member)
8 Apr 11 Ruth Nyagah is the Managing Director of Africert based in Nairobi, Kenya. She gives us an insight in the work of Africert, talks about the role of standards and the constraints for private voluntary standards in Kenya.
Third version of FAO`s EX-ACT tool
8 Apr 11 EX-ACT is a tool aimed at providing ex-ante estimations of the impact of agriculture and forestry development projects on GHG emissions and C sequestration, thus quantifying its effects on Carbon-balance.
ISEAL 100 Survey
7 Apr 11 ISEAL interviewed 100 thought leaders on their view on sustainability standards. The results reveal that social and environmental standards play a key role for the implementation of corporate social and environmental responsibility.
WWF report on Belgium water footprint
5 Apr 11 The new WWF-publication "Belgium and its water footprint" highlights that every Belgian has a daily water consum of 7400 lt. Especially in developed countries the availability of water is taken for granted and therefore it is often used in abundance. Large water amounts are needed in agriculture, for animal feed and the production of textile fibres.
ISEAL Alliance Assurance Code
9 Mar 11 By beginning of this year ISEAL started to coordinate a conversation on how to strenghten the effectiveness of certification and other assurance tools. The output of this conversation will be the Code of Good Practice for Assuring Compliance with Social and Environmental Standards.
ITC publication: The impacts of private standards on global value chains
9 Mar 11 Standards become more and more important in international trade, but what impact do they have on global value chains? Focusing on this question Oliver von Hagen (ITC) and Gabriela Alvarez (Director Latitude Research and Consulting) made a systematic literature review and conclude their findings according to the following four areas
ITC publication: Market access, transparency and fairness in global trade: Export impact for Good 2010
9 Mar 11 This report is the first of an annual series on market access issues with the focus on poverty reduction by means of alleviating market entry for developping countries.
100% Rainforest Alliance certified coffee served on American-Airlines flights
9 Mar 11 By end of last year American Airlines included in its inflight beverage service the Java City Coffee, that is 100% certified by Rainforest Alliance.
NEW FEATURE: Interview with Linda Kleemann
15 Feb 11 Linda Kleemann is research fellow at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) where she analyzes impacts of sustainability standards and rural development issues in Africa. She published two studies on African pineapple supply chains recently. We talked with Linda about her work, her assessment of private voluntary standards in Sub-Sahara Africa and possible forms of cooperation between TSPN, IfW and the Poverty, Equity and Growth Network (PEGNet).
Joint WBI & TSPN course „Agricultural Trade Course for the ECA Region“
15 Feb 11 Training focused on key-agri food trade issues being of special interest for decision makers from the ECA (Eastern Europe and Central Asia) region.
Standards Map lauchned by ITC´s T4SD programme
15 Feb 11 ITCs T4SD Programme built up the Standards Map, a web-based tool which centralises, organises and disseminates information on private standards and relevant research results
UNCTAD discussion paper by Ulrich Hoffmann
14 Feb 11 This discussion paper by Ulrich Hoffmann (UNCTAD) once again takes up the main issue of his presentation during last years TSPN-conference on "Standards for a Sustainable Agriculture and the Mitigation of Climate Change".
SAI / IFC: Using Labor and Environmental Standards in Trade Finance
14 Feb 11 Development of a model for trade finance incentives for continous improvement in implementing decent work standards at the supplier firms of companies.
WBI: Webinar on Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM)
9 Feb 11 The World Bank Institute offers a self-paced e-learning course, consisting of a total of 10 lessons, on "Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI): Navigating the Kyoto Project-Based Mechanisms". Aim of the webinar is to promote understanding of the project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol and explain rules and procedures, thus enabling users to start a CDM or JI project.
WBI: Agricultural Trade Course for the ECA Region
9 Feb 11
TSPN 2010 Conference Report Online
21 Jan 11 TSPN's annual conference held in Bern, Switzerland, on November 17-18, 2010, was a major success. More than 70 practitioners from the standard field came together to discuss sustainability standards with a focus on carbon standards and their potential impact to mitigate climate change. The conference report documents the whole scope of presentations given at the event and gives conference participants the opportunity to voice their thoughts.
TSPN Study: Voluntary Standards and Climate Change
21 Jan 11 The TSPN Secretariat is glad to inform you that the final version of the background study to the annual TSPN conference of 2010 is now available online. The study "Voluntary Standards and Climate Change: An Overview of the Role of Voluntary Standards in Climate Change Mitigation in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors" was commissioned by the Secretariat to Jason Potts, Program Manager of the Sustainable Markets and Responsible Trade (SMART) Program at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
TSPN Members at the Cancún Climate Conference
20 Jan 11 The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Cancún, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10, 2010. Several TSPN members were present at the conference to advocate for the role of standards in climate change mitigation. Look at the interview with Juliane Baroody of Rainforest Alliance on sustainable agriculture and climate change or read the short report of Jason LaChappelle from ISEAL on the whole event and its outcomes.
SAI & Eileen Fisher Held Workshop with Suppliers in China
20 Jan 11 SAI in cooperation with the apparel company Eileen Fisher held a training workshop on "Improving Your Company'S Business and Social Fingerprint™" in Shenzhen, China, on November 11-12, 2010. The participants represented all seven of Eileen Fisher's supplier factories in China, as well as several sourcing agents of the company from Hong Kong.
SAI, SAAS & Fair Trade USA to Support New Fair Trade Apparel Initiative
19 Jan 11 A workshop on the SA 8000 standard and Fair Trade USA Obligations of Cut-Make-Trim Facilities was held in Mumbai, India, on December 2, 2010, in order to train auditors to conduct joint SA 8000-Fair Trade audits of garment facilities.
Agriculture at the Crossroads: Guaranteeing Food Security in a Changing Global Climate
23 Dec 10 Climate change has the potential to damage irreversibly the natural resource base on which agriculture depends, with grave consequences for food security in developing countries. What is required is a rapid and significant shift from conventional, industrial, monoculture-based and high-external-input dependent production towards mosaics of sustainable production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers.
World Bank expands West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program to Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria
23 Dec 10 The World Bank has launched the second phase of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP-1B) in a bid to expand its support to food security in the sub-region by generating new knowledge and technologies.
IISD and the Alternatives to Slash and Burn Partnership at ICRAF have launched the second phase of their project:
23 Dec 10 REDD-plus negotiations are a highly technical and rapidly evolving subject and many developing countries require support to understand their options and to develop strategies to effectively negotiate an appropriate REDD-plus decision under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
FAO launches regular Newsletter for EX ACT Carbon Balance Tool
23 Dec 10 EX-ACT is a tool aimed at providing ex-ante estimations of the impact of agriculture and forestry development projects on GHG emissions and C sequestration, thus quantifying its effects on Carbon-balance. The tool provides guidance on project design and decision making.
World Bank: First African Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement for Soil Carbon Signed
26 Nov 10 Small-holder farmers in Kenya are set to reap the rewards of the first soil carbon project in Africa. In the west of the country a group of farmers is changing practices and earning carbon credits. In the process, the groundbreaking Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project is set to improve food security, help address climate change, and improve the lives and livelihoods of rural dwellers who live in poverty.
ISEAL launches Impact Code in São Paulo on November 16th, 2010
26 Nov 10 The ISEAL Impacts Code provides a framework for standards systems to better understand the social and environmental results of their work, as well as the effectiveness of their various activities and programs.
UNIDO, NORAD & CBI launch “Making Private Standards Work for You”
26 Nov 10 The guide is expected to provide producers in the footwear, garments and furniture sectors, who would like to start or continue a business relationship with a global brand and/or retailer, with some clarity in terms of the abundant, but not readily accessible, information available on private standards and with guidance for turning private standards to their advantage. It should also be helpful for exporters in other sectors.
WBI & TSPN E-Learning Course: “Standards and Agricultural Trade: Principles and Practice”
26 Nov 10 The focus of the course is to analyze the role of technical regulations and standards in international trade and to develop an appreciation of appropriate policy responses, with a particular focus on agri-food products. To illustrate the practcal aspects of standards and trade, the course will use several case studies.
SAI Asks Companies to Find their "Social Fingerprint™"
29 Oct 10 Companies can pick and choose from the Social Fingerprint™ program components to enhance their existing corporate code of conduct program, or they can use the program to evaluate their own social performance or that of their suppliers.
Rainforest Alliance Launches SustainableTrip.org
29 Oct 10 The search engine features an in-depth profile for each business that includes information about amenities and rates, a description of the area and activities, a Google map of the business' location, photos and videos, and actions that the business is taking to demonstrate sustainability.
World Bank and CIRAD form a Strategic Partnership
29 Oct 10 At a seminar in Washington on 20 and 21 September this year, there were discussions on a cooperation around five themes for cooperation: risk management; observation of changes in agricultural practices and measurement of performance of different types of farming; management of innovation in agriculture at different scales and with diverse stakeholders; development of tools to measure carbon in agro-systems, forests and landscape; and sustainable forest management.
EU offered EUR 2 million to the STDF
28 Oct 10 EU’s deputy representative to the WTO, John Clarke stated “the EU will continue supporting developing countries helping them implement international SPS standards. Acquiring such competence would strengthen their ability to gain and maintain market access, take a greater part in the world economy and use trade as a tool for poverty reduction.”
The European Parliament Demands Fair, Transparent and Sustainable Trade in Fish
17 Sep 10 The Members of Parliament (MPs) insisted that imports have to meet the same standards as EU internal production in every respect: environmental, labour, health and quality.
SAI Promotes Stakeholder Engagement and Social Responsibility in China
17 Sep 10 The group discussed the most significant challenges to compliance with voluntary social standards and the potential advantages of setting up an ongoing multi-stakeholder working group.
Rainforest Alliance and USAID Launched Standard for Sustainable Cattle Production Systems
17 Sep 10 This new standard is a tool that will help cattle farmers implement good environmental, social and animal-welfare practices and enable them to voluntarily apply for the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal of approval.
Training manual "Managing certifications for agricultural exports"
12 Aug 10 FAO and Earth Net
Standards and certification in fisheries and aquaculture
9 Aug 10 FAO
Forest Products and Industries
9 Aug 10 FAO
Sustainable bio-energy development
9 Aug 10 FAO
Improving the access of farmer groups and small-scale businesses to certification
9 Aug 10 FAO
Multi-stakeholder collaboration for sustainable fruit production and trade
9 Aug 10 FAO
Land management and soil description
9 Aug 10 FAO
International investments in the agricultural sector
9 Aug 10 FAO
Harmonization and equivalence for organic standards and guarantee systems
9 Aug 10 FAO
Sustainability in practice
9 Aug 10 FAO
Capacity building on organic agriculture (OA) as a market development strategy for small-scale growers
9 Aug 10 FAO
Capacity building on good agricultural practices (GAP)
9 Aug 10 FAO
Assessing the sustainability of Private Food Standards linked to food safety requirements in comparison to Codex standards especially for Developing Countries.
9 Aug 10 FAO
National Strategies and capacity building on quality linked to geographical origin and geographical indications
9 Aug 10 FAO
National Strategies on Voluntary standards and schemes for specific quality products
9 Aug 10 FAO
Sustainable Commodity Initiative
9 Aug 10 UNCTAD
Building supply capacity and removing technical barriers to trade in organic agricultural products from developing countries
9 Aug 10 UNCTAD
Making Sustainability Standards Work for Small-scale Farmers in Developing Countries
9 Aug 10 UNCTAD
Rainforest Alliance President Tensie Whelan Calls for a Return of “Old Fashioned” Farming Techniques
8 Aug 10
New EU labeling rules including new EU organic logo came into force on 1 July
8 Aug 10 New EU rules on organic food labeling including the requirement to display the new EU organic logo, entered into force on 1 July, 2010. The so-called “Euro-Leaf” is now obligatory on pre-packaged organic food products that have been produced in any of EU Member States and meet the necessary standards.
FAO releases Export Guide for Decision Makers on Organic and Fair Trade
8 Aug 10 This guide was developed for farmer organizations and companies wishing to export organic and fair-trade certified products, as well as for organizations providing them with support services. It is conceived as a practical, easy-to-use document, divided into seven separate modules which address the process of getting ready to export from different angles.
National Strategies and Programmes on Good Agricultural Practice
6 Aug 10 UNCTAD
Follow-up on the 2010 TSPN Conference on Climate Change and Standards
4 Aug 10 The TSPN conference on "Standards for a Sustainable Agriculture and the Mitigation of Climate Change" on November 17-18, 2010, in Bern, Switzerland, is over. The conference covered the contribution of agriculture to climate change, mitigation and adaptation measures, greenhouse gas/carbon footprint standards and their relation to existing sustainability standards, case-studies, as well as a specific view on developing countries. The background study to the conference, results and abstracts will be presented here soon.
FAST launches Financial Marketplace Online Training Workshops
12 Jul 10
EU wants clearer Food Labelling
12 Jul 10 The European Parliament voted to make nutrition labelling of pre-packed foods mandatory, , but rejected calls by health and consumer organisations' for a traffic light system giving consumers a visual warning for high fat, sugar or salt content of a product.
SAI & IFC Release their Practical Reference Book “Measure & Improve Your Labour Standards Performance"
12 Jul 10
European Parliament recognizes Commercial Importance of Quality Labeling
11 Jun 10
SAI, BSCI & GTZ Partner to Build Capacity of Suppliers on Social Compliance
11 Jun 10
World Bank and TRAPCA give Training Course on Standards and Agricultural Trade
11 Jun 10
World Bank to Help Improve Food Safety in China
11 Jun 10
FAO and DFID launch the World Banana Forum
11 Jun 10
IISD impact training courses
11 Jun 10
World Wildlife Fund collaborates with EcoAgriculture Partners
11 Jun 10
SAAS and TransFair USA pilot joint-audits in India to raise the bar for textile factories
11 Jun 10
TSPN Steering Committee meets in Berlin
11 May 10
ISEAL Consultation period: Impacts Code
1 Apr 10 The ISEAL Alliance is leading the development of a Code of Good Practice for Assessing the Impacts of Social and Environmental Standards Systems in order to answer the question of how the impact of standards can be measured. The consultation period for this Impacts Code is from 1 March 2010 until 30 April 2010.
STDF Video: Trading safely
25 Jan 10
Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI) Standard - Public Consultation Phase 2
25 Jan 10 Version 2 of the BSI Standard is now open for public consultation. Phase 2 of the public consultation (60 days in accordance with ISEAL) will run from 12 November to 12 January 2010 (midnight UK time)
PIP develops new Plant Protection Practices Guides
20 Nov 09 The latest updates of the various Guides to Good Plant Protection Practices have been made available online.
FAO hosted the World Food Summit 2009
19 Nov 09 "I am convinced that together we can eradicate hunger from our planet," FAO Director Jacques Diouf declared. "But we must move from words to actions." Although it was not possible to develop measurable targets or specific deadlines, the Summit agreed on Five Rome Principles and Four important commitments.
IISD , UNCTAD and IIED coordinate the State of Sustainability Initiatives
19 Nov 09 The SSI is a new initiative coordinated by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development), AID Environment, and IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development). It focuses on three main activities, namely Reporting Services, Knowledge Sharing and Research.
ITC’s World Directory on Standards 2009
19 Nov 09
STDF and World Bank discuss links between climate change and SPS risks
19 Nov 09 The discussions focused on the connections between climate change, agricultural trade and food safety, as well as on the implications and challenges for SPS measures and capacity building. The seminar identified several challenges and impacts
Latest activities from our Members
22 Oct 09 From September 2009 until October 2010, IFC opened the review and update process of the Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and Policy on Disclosure of Information (sustainability framework). ISEAL started the second consultation period on the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards until December this year. TSPN Members are highly welcome to participate and enrich the discussions.
Virtual Discussion about what Decision Makers in Developing Countries need to turn Voluntary Standards into Catalysts for Development
22 Oct 09 Based on the idea of Working Group One “Improved Informed Decision Making of Developing Country Stakeholders on Voluntary Standards” the TSPN is hosting an E-dialogue from 2nd until 4th of November and will present the findings on 30th of November.
Improved standards- related Technical Assistance
22 Oct 09 The second technical Working Group of the TSPN started its work. From December 2009 to March 2010 it is planned to develop relevant background studies dealing with the topic of improved standards-related Technical Assistance. Learn more about the Working Group, its objectives and activities.
New Members on Board
22 Oct 09 During the last few months the TSPN was proud to introduce three new Members to the Network. ITC, STDF and ICFRAF are now officially part of the TSPN and will enrich our Network with their broad knowledge within the standards field. Background information on the Members can be found at tradestandards.org at the section Partner Pages.
What should you consider, when getting engaged with standards?
1 Oct 09 The TSPN Working Group 1 decided to tackle the problem of a missing information basis for decision making on the macro and meso level in Developing Countries. Therefore the Group decided to publish a "Guide for Decision Making on Food relted Voluntary Sustainability Standards" with the aim of empowering key decision makers at government and private sector level to formulate strategies for standard development.
Members’ Activities at a Glance
1 Jul 09 The TSPN homepage presents latest news concerning member activities and information about relevant sectors. Members are invited to submit content to the TSPN Secretariat for posting on the homepage.
Call for Proposals for New Steering Committee Members
1 Jul 09 Per the TSPN Draft Charter the Steering Committee (SC) agreed at the last planning workshop to accept nominations of developing country representatives to join the SC. New SC members will share the same responsibilities of current SC members. Nominations should be made directly to the TSPN Secretariat.
The Starting Point of Our Journey : TSPN Planning Workshop 2009
29 Apr 09 On March 9 -10, 2009 the TSPN Steering Committee and Secretariat met to revise the objectives of the TSPN and outline the strategic direction of the Network for 2009. The work planning session concluded with the establishment of three Working Groups which all TSPN members are encouraged to join.
A Common Ground for the TSPN: The Draft Network Charter
5 Mar 09 TSPN Steering Committee developed the Draft Charter for the Network. Members are encouraged to review and comment by July 31, 2009.
TSPN to establish a formal Secretariat
24 Jun 08 Multi-year grant will allow the TSPN to establish a Secretariat and implement additional activities. The Secretariat will be hosted by GTZ in Eschborn, Germany.
World Bank organizes E-Learning course on the Challenges and Opportunities for Agro-Food Trade in Africa
26 Feb 08 World Bank’s course on the Challenges and Opportunities for Agro-Food Trade aims to help African farmers, governments and firms to better understand emerging food and safety standards in destination markets. In doing so, the World Bank hopes local stakeholders will be able to use this information strategically to anticipate changing markets conditions and continue to improve the diversification of African agro-export products.

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