THE STATE OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETS STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2015

The report 'The State of Sustainable Markets: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2015' provides a comprehensive data snapshot of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) across nine commodity sectors: bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm oil, soybeans, cane sugar, tea, and forestry. Produced by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the document tracks growth in certified areas and production volumes, highlighting the rapid expansion of sustainable markets and the challenges of data consistency and multiple certification.

• Since 2008, all Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) included in the report have shown growth in compliant areas. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) saw the most significant expansion, with its certified area increasing almost 30-fold between 2008 and 2014.
• Organic agriculture is the largest sustainability standard by area and commodity variety, with more than 43 million hectares certified in 2013, representing 0.9% of global agricultural land.
• Certified forest area grew by 41% between 2008 and 2014. By 2014, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) reached 187 million hectares (an 82% increase) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) reached 263 million hectares (a 21% increase).
• Single-sector standards tend to dominate the sectors where they exist, such as coffee, cotton, forestry, oil palm, sugarcane, and soy, often accounting for more than half of all certified production in those sectors.
• The report identifies critical gaps in market data that hinder policy planning, specifically a lack of reliable information on products with multiple certifications, insufficient pricing data for VSS compliant products, and a lack of data on consumption patterns and customer demographics.
• To improve market transparency and policy integration, the report suggests expanding reporting requirements for producers, incorporating VSS compliant goods into the Harmonized System (HS) coding system, and increasing corporate and national statistics on sustainable consumption.
• In the cocoa sector, UTZ Certified holds the largest VSS-certified area, while Rainforest Alliance/SAN showed the largest area growth between 2008 and 2013.
• In the coffee sector, the 4C Association had the largest VSS-certified area and the highest growth rate between 2008 and 2013, with its area increasing by almost 600%.
• The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the largest VSS for cotton, with its area increasing tenfold since 2010. By 2014, BCI certified 1.6 million hectares, representing 5% of the global cotton area.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2015). THE STATE OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETS STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2015. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015/SSM_2015.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. THE STATE OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETS STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2015. 2015. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015/SSM_2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=THE STATE OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETS STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2015 |date=2015 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015/SSM_2015.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2015state, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{THE STATE OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETS STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2015}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015/SSM_2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }