Voluntary Sustainability Standards and Export Promotion

The report analyzes the integration of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) into trade policies to enhance market access for developing countries. It identifies two primary forms of integration: direct mandatory compliance and voluntary influence on national policies. Through case studies in Mozambique (cotton), Namibia (horticulture), Suriname (fisheries), and Vietnam (forestry), the report highlights that while VSSs can improve product quality and reputation, implementation is often hindered by high certification costs, limited institutional capacity, and market volatility.

• Governments integrate VSSs into export measures through two primary methods: direct integration, where compliance is mandatory to obtain export licences, and voluntary integration, where VSSs inspire national policies and domestic standards without being a legal requirement for export.
• In Mozambique, the government integrated Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) principles into the 2015 Cotton Regulation, making these requirements mandatory for all cotton farmers in the country. This resulted in 86% of cotton farmers being formally BCI certified by 2025, covering 90% of the land used for cotton cultivation.
• Namibia's Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) partnered with GLOBALG.A.P. to build producer capacity, with the goal of making compliance with the Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) mandatory as a minimum production standard for all exported horticultural products by 2026 or 2027.
• Suriname used the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard as a reference to upgrade national fisheries governance, leading to the creation of the first national seabob fishery management plan included in national legislation. This enabled the country to meet environmental and traceability requirements for European and North American markets.
• Vietnam recognizes the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) within its national sustainable forest management (SFM) certification scheme. As of July 2025, FSC certification accounted for approximately 65% of the total certified SFM area in Vietnam.
• The primary drivers for VSS adoption include the need to meet international regulatory requirements (such as the EU Deforestation Regulation), enhancing the global reputation of national industries, and strengthening strategic export sectors to ensure a level playing field.
• Significant barriers to VSS implementation include high certification and auditing costs for smallholders, limited operational capacity of VSS organizations to provide long-term support, and political instability that disrupts policy continuity.
• Effective VSS integration is facilitated by strong government leadership, such as the establishment of national verification bodies to reduce farmer costs, and formal collaboration frameworks like Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

APA

Bermúdez, S., & Sarmiento, F. (2026). Voluntary Sustainability Standards and Export Promotion. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-04/voluntary-sustainability-standards-export-promotion.pdf

Chicago

Bermúdez, Steffany, and Florencia Sarmiento. Voluntary Sustainability Standards and Export Promotion. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-04/voluntary-sustainability-standards-export-promotion.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bermúdez |first1=Steffany |last2=Sarmiento |first2=Florencia |title=Voluntary Sustainability Standards and Export Promotion |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-04/voluntary-sustainability-standards-export-promotion.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bermdez2026voluntary, author = {Bermúdez, Steffany and Sarmiento, Florencia}, title = {{Voluntary Sustainability Standards and Export Promotion}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-04/voluntary-sustainability-standards-export-promotion.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }