Progress Reporting

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) explores how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can assist governments in preparing Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The document argues that VSSs can fill data gaps, provide best-practice case studies, and foster multisectoral partnerships to track progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can support governments in reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing data from content criteria and "best practice" case studies for use in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).
• Governments, particularly in the Global South, face significant challenges with data availability for SDG reporting. While VSSs can help, there is a mismatch between the "state-centric" aggregated data governments need for VNRs and the more granular monitoring and evaluation data collected by VSSs.
• VSSs provide specific contributions to various SDGs: SDG 2 (land rights, soil health, and farmer training), SDG 6 (water quality and efficient irrigation), SDG 8 (forced labour, child labour, and workplace safety), SDG 12 (hazardous chemical prohibition and organic composting), and SDG 15 (forest conservation and biodiversity loss prevention).
• Case studies in Uganda, India, and Tanzania demonstrate the practical impact of VSSs. In Uganda, Fairtrade International training for over 1,200 women improved income diversification and land tenure awareness. In Tanzania, the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) standard contributed to building 11 classrooms, 21 latrines, and a girls' dormitory in the Simiyu region, as well as a vocational training centre in the Bariadi district.
• IISD developed five guidelines for governments to leverage VSSs in VNRs: identifying stakeholder engagement processes, establishing institutional structures for information gathering, using VSS content criteria and evidence for target reporting, describing how VSSs address data gaps and finance, and selecting case studies of good practices.

APA

Kosolapova, E., & Larrea, C. (2023). Progress Reporting. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-review-standards-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-summary.pdf

Chicago

Kosolapova, Elena, and Cristina Larrea. Progress Reporting. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-review-standards-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kosolapova |first1=Elena |last2=Larrea |first2=Cristina |title=Progress Reporting |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-review-standards-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kosolapova2023progress, author = {Kosolapova, Elena and Larrea, Cristina}, title = {{Progress Reporting}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-review-standards-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }