ISEAL Alliance's blog

An interview with Fiona Wheatley, Sustainable Development Manager, Marks & Spencer

Gender rights are one of the many social issues that standards look to address through certification and in their efforts to implement the Impacts Code. But the dimension of gender inequity can be difficult to tackle. Guest blogger Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto recounts his organisation's experiences to promote gender equity and argues that sustainability standards need to take a stronger approach toward learning about the gender impacts of certification.

How can systems that set out to certify sustainable production develop ways of operating that ensure that they themselves are sustainable, whilst addressing the often competing demands of producers, businesses and consumers? How can they continue to evolve and break into new and emerging markets whilst finding ways to address challenges that arise from a growing population, increasing levels of consumption and climate change? In a nutshell, what does the future hold for sustainability standards?

ISEAL’s Assurance Code will apply to auditing and certification bodies that assess and verify compliance with voluntary social and environmental standards. The primary aims of the Code are to improve the quality and consistency of the assurance process and a major part of that is carried out by auditors. Here we talk to Richard Bradley who, with Taruna Group Ltd, carried out background research for ISEAL’s Assurance Code about what auditor competence means.