The traditional way of framing international
trade solely in terms of profitability
and economic development has
led to environmental and social disconnects.
Civil organizations such as the Rainforest
Alliance have worked for decades to inject
sustainability principles and standards into
the global economy. Hundreds of major businesses
are making ambitious commitments
to fight climate change, halt deforestation,
seek sustainably produced commodities and
do right by workers and communities across
their supply chains.
The combined value of trade they conduct
reaches many trillions of dollars, dwarfing
the combined budgets of government ministries working on them. For example,
companies responsible for 90% of the US$33
billion global palm oil trade have pledged to
eliminate commodity-driven deforestation
from their supply chains by 2020 or 2030.
TRADE AND AID
As such, there is a powerful argument that
tapping international trade’s massive capital
flows is the fastest way to scale up positive
impacts. However, we should amend that
’trade not aid’ argument to ’trade and aid’
because the two are becoming increasingly
intertwined.
We are at a historic juncture where the
sustainability work and ambitions of business, government, international organizations, civil
society and citizens are rapidly converging.
Many businesses are already engaging with
COP21, the conference on climate change to
be held in Paris in December, and working
on integrating the new Global Goals for Sustainable
Development Goals, which include
promoting sustainable forestry, agriculture
and tourism. Still, implementing sustainability
goals at scale will require the public and
private sectors to combine forces as never
before, while, recognizing everyone is part of
a interdependent global ecosystem that must
create value for everyone.
Independent sustainability standards,
training and technical assistance and certification are important tools for striking the right
balance. Certification schemes such as those
offered by the Rainforest Alliance and Forest
Stewardship Council provide a framework
for defining and implementing sustainable
practices and generating benefits across the
supply chain.
Those efforts are already approaching
global scale. The Rainforest Alliance has so far
certified 130 million acres of forest and farmland
as being under sustainable management
in 77 countries, including farms that grow
15% of the world’s tea and 14% of its cocoa.
CUTTING COSTS, RAISING YIELDS
Certification helps suppliers cut costs, raise
yields and earn more from their harvests by
adopting sustainable management practices.
For example, Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch
consumer products maker, worked with the
Rainforest Alliance to increase certification
in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where most of
the world’s cocoa is grown, negotiating with
those governments on price and regulatory
frameworks. Some 10,000 farms earned
certification within a few years, sending
their yields and incomes soaring. Certified
Ivorian farms had nearly 300% higher net
incomes than non-certified ones.
In Mexico, which has one of the world’s
highest deforestation rates, the Rainforest
Alliance works with the Mexican government, the United Nations Development Programme
and community forest enterprises to
help them increase their competiveness and
get more of the market value of the wood
they produce. Technical assistance for sustainable
forest management elsewhere in
Latin America improves quality and profitability
for community forests.
SECURING LONG-TERM SUPPLY
For businesses, certification is a way to
integrate sustainability in strategically
important ways. It helps companies secure
a long-term supply of key commodities,
manage reputational risk and build loyalty
with their customer base. It also helps build
wider consumer awareness and cultivate
new business. More than 50% of consumers
in India, over 40% in China and better
than 30% in the United States of America
are young people who express their social
and environmental values in what they buy.Importantly, their numbers are growing.
For governments of producer countries,
certification can increase economic prosperity.
Moreover, it often helps accomplish what
regulation and enforcement can’t do alone
because it incentivizes producers and companies
to pitch in. However, government’s role
is still critically important. If existing laws are
enforced and tax incentives for sustainable
development and best practices are built into
new initiatives, governments can forge more
effective partnerships with global businesses
and local suppliers while giving major impetus
to implementation of sustainability goals.
In many countries there are still formidable
obstacles to be overcome: low literacy,
lack of infrastructure and governance stability
issues, for example. While certification
can’t resolve those problems, it can provide
a common framework through which nongovernmental
organizations, companies and
governments can work together.
Spreading adoption of sustainable management
practices through certification offers
important ways to connect and align the
interests of companies, suppliers, governments
and consumers in pursuit of sustainability
goals. As global trade expands, it can
help ensure that the options and abilities of
people around the world to put their lives,
communities and environments on a more
just and sustainable footing do so as well.