Last year the ISEAL Alliance conducted research asking 100 thought leaders where they engage, will engage and want to engage with certification

The term “thought leader” suggests many differing interpretations. Some put the accent on “leader” and think of CEOs, NGOs and politicians whilst others put the stress on “thought” emphasising policy makers, academics and writers.

But the definition isn’t about a job description, it’s about influence. Put bluntly, whose thinking and doing will lead us into the future? For those of us working in the realm of sustainability that’s a crucial question and although many things may influence future sustainability the part business plays will prove decisive. Consumers, academics and governments are certainly proactive — and indeed create an enabling environment — but business leaders who embrace sustainability have the potential to achieve radical change.

Last year alone saw Mars pledge to have all its cocoa certified by 2020, Twinings pledged to have all its tea certified by 2015 and Unilever promised to source 100 per cent of its agricultural materials sustainably by 2020.

Business choices made now clearly affect the long term future of our world. SMEs or large multi-nationals naturally plan ten to twenty years ahead so knowing what business thinks and feels now becomes vital to those NGOs as well as certification bodies who want to create a sustainable future.

With this in mind the ISEAL Alliance created the ISEAL 100 survey which set out to ask thought leaders — across global sectors and commodities and including Office Depot, Unilever and Carrefour — about their views on certification. How did they use it? In what ways? What were the barriers to using certification and why didn’t they use more of it?

ISEAL coordinated interviews with 100 thought leaders across the spectrum of business (80 per cent of respondents), government and civil society (together making 20 per cent). The people ISEAL chose to take part in the survey represent many different sectors from pharmaceuticals to forest to mining, represent different authorities — academics, civil servants and NGOs — or have consistently engaged with issues of sustainability and/or certification.

Certification has become an increasingly popular tool to address sustainability issues across all types of organisations. Whether it’s big business like Walmart or Nestlé or government procurement departments – they all increasingly demand assurance that their suppliers apply best practice production processes for quality and sustainability. And certification systems with their auditing, transparency and geographic spread are an attractive and flexible instrument with which to achieve this assurance.

The ISEAL 100 provides a graphic picture of where certification is today and what it could achieve tomorrow.

ISEAL 100 FINDINGS

The ISEAL 100 report breaks down the findings into chapters on Awareness and Use, Commitment, Benefits, Impacts and Evaluation, Room for Improvement and Building Trust. Below are some of the findings.

Awareness, Use and Commitment

The survey findings show that on average the thought leaders’ companies use four different social and environmental standards. Two thirds of those surveyed use either Fairtrade, FSC, MSC, Rainforest Alliance or an organic standard or a combination of the five. Nearly three quarters would consider using more standards to achieve their objectives.

Benefits

Four out of five respondents mention the value of using standards to increase operational efficiency. Other uses of standards systems include marketing and assessing and improving sustainability performance. Credible verification, multi-stakeholder standard-setting and good governance increase trust in standards systems and promote their use.

Room for Improvement and Building Trust

Frustrations mentioned include the cost involved in using standards, a lack of effectiveness of individual systems and the complexity and overlap in the standards systems landscape. Still, two out of three respondents speak out against a “catch-all ecolabel.” Many encourage harmonisation and order among existing standards.

Conclusion

Four general conclusions can be made from the report. Firstly, social and environmental standards are becoming a widely used tool to implement corporate social and environmental responsibility. Only six respondents stated that they did not use any standards. Secondly, credibility criteria impact highly on the awareness and use of standard systems. The reputation of a standard is key and that reputation lies in factors such as credible verification, good governance and a multi-stakeholder approach. Thirdly, operational improvements are an important benefit from the use of standard systems – companies and supply chains find that standards create a shared language and agreed processes to deliver sustainable results. Finally, standards should strive to build a coherent landscape: there are many standards, much overlap and often confusion over claims. A healthy landscape demands easy evaluation of standards and more accessible information about them.

The ISEAL 100 report will be available from Wednesday 2 March from www.isealalliance.org/iseal100.

About the ISEAL Alliance

The ISEAL Alliance is the global association for sustainable standards systems. ISEAL members are leaders in the field, committed to creating solid and credible standards systems. Working with established and emerging voluntary standards initiatives, ISEAL develops guidance and facilitates coordinated efforts to ensure their effectiveness and credibility and scale up their impacts. ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice are international reference documents for credible social and environmental standards. Compliance is a membership condition. Members include WWF, FSC, MSC, SAI and many more. For a full list and to see what they do visit www.isealalliance.org.

GoodWeave International (GWI) strives to meet best practices in standard setting and certification, which includes promoting transparency and stakeholder engagement. In line with these principles, GWI policies and procedures are available for public review and comment.

• GWI Licensing and Certification Policy v.1.0

Terms of Reference describe the work of the various divisions and committees of GoodWeave. Nominations and applications to GWI governance committees are welcome at any time and may be sent to info@goodweave.net.

• GWI Standards Committee Terms of Reference v.5.3
• GWI Certification Committee Terms of Reference v.1
• GWI Secretariat Terms of Reference v.1.0

Click here to view more policies and procedures.

Note: GWI reviewed and revised policies and procedures relating to the certification system during 2010-2011. The above Licensing and Certification Policy and related Terms of Reference have been approved by the GWI Members Council and become effective in April 2011.  Stakeholder comments on these documents are welcome.

Lobsang Lama of Gomang Carpet, and Mathew John of GoodWeave India in the GoodWeave booth at Domotex.

GoodWeave International will exhibit at the 2011 Domotex Hanover, one of the world’s premiere floor covering shows, held January 15-18. The GoodWeave booth, in Hall 20, space A04, will feature images from GoodWeave USA’s traveling photo exhibit Faces of Freedom. GoodWeave members Creative Matters and Stile BK will also be among the 1,400 exhibitors at Domotex.

In order to better serve children and families in carpet weaving communities and recognizing the need to adapt to the changing marketplace, the GoodWeave program is developing a new, more comprehensive set of requirements for its certification standard. This initiative reflects a growing recognition that the problem of child labor is deeply intertwined with those of adult working conditions and environmental stewardship.

All interested parties are invited to participate in the development of the new GoodWeave Standard. Click here for more information or to learn about how to contribute to the public consultation.

GoodWeave will have the same meaning as the RugMark label: a deep commitment to

• the deterrence of child labor,
• the education and rehabilitation of rescued child workers in the carpet industry, and
• the families and communities of more than 3,200 children in India and Nepal that we actively serve.

Both the existing RugMark label and the new GoodWeave label assure that no children under age 14 were employed by the facility responsible for making the labeled rug.

In addition, GoodWeave will, in time, represent an enhanced set of values that places the RugMark mission in a broader context of environmental and social responsibility. Through a new set of standards under development, GoodWeave label directives will be more rigorous, transparent and defined, and with input from a multi-stakeholder standards committee. For guidance in this effort, RMI is an associate member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling Alliance (ISEAL), a global leader in setting norms and best practices for certification. The RugMark International website will make policies and procedures available to any interested party and facilitate comment on standard-setting.

Additional resources are available to GoodWeave licensees and Marketing Partners in the Member Resources area.

Updated November 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

Note: GoodWeave International (GWI) – formerly RugMark International (RMI) – re-branded its certification program and label in 2009. In 2010 the organization also re-branded , such that the name GoodWeave is used when referencing the certification programme, the label and the organization.