Standards and Biodiversity: Thematic Review

The report finds that while voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) are increasingly adopted in key agricultural sectors, they remain a marginal force globally, covering less than 1% of global agricultural area as of 2014. VSSs show strong alignment with habitat conservation, with 87% prohibiting production on recently converted forestland, but are poorly equipped to address climate change, with no standards requiring strict GHG emission reductions. The analysis reveals that standards typically mandate practices rather than performance outcomes, and their impact is often limited by a reliance on developed-country demand and a tendency to be adopted where compliance is least costly. The report suggests five policy options, including supporting biodiversity-driven implementation and developing integrated data systems, to better leverage VSSs for biodiversity protection.

• Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) have a limited global footprint, covering less than 1% of global agricultural area in the eight most active sectors as of 2014.
• VSSs are strongly aligned with habitat conservation, which is the primary driver of agriculturally caused biodiversity loss; 87% of reviewed standards prohibit production on recently converted forestland.
• Standard-compliant production in the eight most active sectors grew by an average of 35% per annum between 2008 and 2014, with a projected reach of 10% or more of global production for each of these sectors by 2020.
• VSSs are poorly prepared for climate change impacts; no reviewed standards include strict requirements for the measurement or reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs).
• Most VSS requirements focus on prescribing specific practices rather than defining performance outcomes, which limits the availability of data on actual biodiversity impacts.
• Biodiversity-specific requirements are rare; only 40% of initiatives specify critical requirements for biodiversity risk assessment, and only 13% require no net loss of biodiversity.
• In the cotton sector, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is dominant, and while it has critical requirements for water management, much of the certified area has a historically low blue water footprint.
• Palm oil certification is heavily concentrated in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, but its effectiveness is hindered by high demand for conventional palm oil in China and India.
• Soy certification adoption remains low (below 3%) and is primarily driven by European demand, with significant gaps in demand from China.
• Sugarcane certification is highly concentrated in Brazil, which generally uses less fertilizer per volume than other major producers like India, China, Pakistan, and Mexico.
• Tea certification has seen rapid growth, particularly through the Rainforest Alliance, but is heavily skewed toward export-oriented production in Kenya and Sri Lanka.

APA

Potts, J., Voora, V., Lynch, M., & Mammadova, A. (2017). Standards and Biodiversity: Thematic Review. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/standards-biodiversity-ssi-report.pdf

Chicago

Potts, Jason, Vivek Voora, Matthew Lynch, and Aynur Mammadova. Standards and Biodiversity: Thematic Review. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/standards-biodiversity-ssi-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Potts |first1=Jason |last2=Voora |first2=Vivek |last3=Lynch |first3=Matthew |last4=Mammadova |first4=Aynur |title=Standards and Biodiversity: Thematic Review |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=June 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/standards-biodiversity-ssi-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{potts2017standards, author = {Potts, Jason and Voora, Vivek and Lynch, Matthew and Mammadova, Aynur}, title = {{Standards and Biodiversity: Thematic Review}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/standards-biodiversity-ssi-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }