State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and Poverty Reduction

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can alleviate poverty for the estimated 500 million smallholder farmer families globally, focusing on access to resources, opportunities, and power.

• The report analyzes 13 widely adopted voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) to determine how they impact three dimensions of poverty reduction: power and voice, opportunities and choice, and access to resources.
• VSS compliance can aid poverty alleviation by providing skills training that improves producer knowledge and the ability to grow sustainable, high-quality products, which can lead to more stable crop income, higher prices, and increased social capital through producer organizations.
• To maximize the poverty-reduction potential of VSSs, the report recommends that governments, value chain actors, and VSS bodies establish living income references, support access to sustainable land, improve farmer implementation of standards, stimulate demand for sustainable products, adopt gender-equality approaches, and include farmers in decision-making.

APA

de Cordoba,, S. E. W. L. E. F. (2021). State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and Poverty Reduction. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/ssi-review-standards-poverty-reduction

Chicago

de Cordoba,, Sara Elder,Ann Wilkings,Cristina Larrea,Niematallah Elamin,Santiago Fernandez. State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and Poverty Reduction. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/publications/ssi-review-standards-poverty-reduction.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Cordoba, |first1=Sara Elder,Ann Wilkings,Cristina Larrea,Niematallah Elamin,Santiago Fernandez |title=State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and Poverty Reduction |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2 December 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/ssi-review-standards-poverty-reduction |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{decordoba2021state, author = {de Cordoba,, Sara Elder,Ann Wilkings,Cristina Larrea,Niematallah Elamin,Santiago Fernandez}, title = {{State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and Poverty Reduction}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/ssi-review-standards-poverty-reduction}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }