This document provides an overview of the development of the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems (the ISEAL Code). It includes a summary of the consultations on the first and second drafts of the ISEAL Code, and an overview of key changes from the existing Codes of Good Practice. We would like to thank everyone who provided feedback on the drafts, and to those who supported the consultations by engaging with events and sharing information about the consultations with colleagues and stakeholders.

Benchmarking guide for analysing or evaluating sustainability initiatives or performance.

The document at the bottom of this page provides a high level summary of what polygon location data is and why it is of significant value to sustainability standards. It aims to encourage decision makers within systems to consider the operational collection and use of polygon data within their organisations.

Six years ago, ISEAL published a comprehensive review and synthesis of existing literature and evidence of the business benefits of using sustainability standards.

There is now wide recognition that the ongoing pandemic has had a profound impact on women across all dimensions of economic and social activity. From shifting gender roles within the household to effects on women’s active role in the economy and the real health and well-being effects of the pandemic, there is a growing concern that women are ‘losing out’ severely. From the standpoint of sustainability standards and systems, the pandemic has opened up the opportunity to review many streams of work, including how they conduct their assurance activities.

This research aims to contribute evidence of the Impacts of Voluntary Sustainability Standards as well as provide a working definition for the concept of systemic impacts.

This document provides practical guidance for sustainability systems to support them in generating valuable and actionable insights from data. Utilizing concepts in data science, it is intended for sustainability systems seeking to maximise the value of their data, combine data sources, and enable improved data-driven decision making procedures.

A concise document that outlines the key lessons learned from the VIA Initiative.

This document summarises the results of a pilot project coordinated by ISEAL to face the challenge of communicating the impacts of standards. It also reflects on the value of this pilot as a rich learning experience for all the individuals involved.

Webinar on key concepts in the development of a Theory of Change (ToC) for standard systems.

Voluntary sustainability standards have the potential to deliver impacts that go beyond individual certified operations and effect wider systemic changes, according to new research published by WWF and ISEAL. These ‘systemic impacts’ help to create an enabling environment for production and consumption practices that benefit people and the planet, and contribute toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

This webinar looks at the critical factors that help independent assurance programmes be credible and effective. Member examples, including RSPO, are used.

This resource includes the recording of the Webinar: ISEAL guidance to support remote auditing practices; Overview, Discussion and Next steps

This resource includes the recording, slides and agenda of the first learning workshop of the remote auditing project.

This webinar discusses the report from WWF and ISEAL 'SDGs mean business: How credible standards can help deliver the 2030 Agenda'.

This webinar provided an opportunity for those working in the palm oil sector in Asia, including on the demand side, to hear about ongoing efforts in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that are strengthening demand for sustainable palm oil such as youth engagement, industry platforms, and company rankings.

This ASI research report identified possible approaches, good auditing practices, and potential areas for alignment between sustainability standards and has been presented in a webinar.

'The changing nature of trust and the role of credible standards' presented by Karin Kreider, ISEAL’s Executive Director, Joe Wozniak from International Trade Centre and Philip Schleifer from University of Amsterdam.

Joshua Wickerham, ISEAL Policy & Outreach Manager, guides us through key insights from the producer needs survey, with input from Stefano Savi from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Rosario Galan from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). We also discuss RSPO’s and FSC’s smallholder strategies and lessons learnt from the survey findings.

Sustainability systems are market-based tools designed to address the most pressing social and environmental challenges of our time. They define responsible practices, assess the implementation of these practices, and measure and communicate results. Sustainability systems are used in most sectors worldwide to improve social and environmental performance. Download this one page, full description of a sustainability system.

This document sets out what our Code Compliant status recognises for our Community Members and outlines the structure of the ISEAL membership.

Spanish translation of 2017 report summary by Aidenvironment and commissioned by ISEAL on the business benefits that using sustainability standards can deliver to various business entities along the length of the supply chain.

Guide to standard setting in Spanish.