• Introducing the MENA region to carbon footprint of products through standardisation
• Building institutional capacity on standard setting in the East Africa Community (EAC) region
• Building institutional capacity on standard setting in the South and South East Asia (SESA) regions
• Durban COP 17 Trade and Climate Change Symposium, South Africa: Session “Promoting trade and sustainable development through
the influence and use of international standards.”
• Planning Meeting: Needs of Capacity Building to establish long-term Partner Driven Cooperation between Namibia and Sweden
• The Stockholm conference on “Climate change, trade and standardisation - in a development perspective” (CCTS)
• Capacity Development of African Standardisation
• CSR seminars in South Africa and Botswana
• Workshop on sustainable business in Namibia
• Bioenergy workshop in Kenya
• SIS at Rio+20 conference
• Introducing the MENA region to carbon footprint of products through standardisation
SIS, with support from Sida, has during 2009-2011 developed capacity in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region about international standards processes. A real case has been used to involve stakeholders from the region in the development of the new ISO standard on Carbon Footprint of Products (ISO 14067), expected to be launched to the market in 2012.
Participants in the project have represented companies, institutes, universities, governmental bodies and NGOs from the following countries in the region: Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco.
SIS methodology on building institutional capacity on standard setting has been used in the project. It involves different events organised in cooperation with national standards bodies in the region: regional standardisation workshops, pre-seminars before ISO Meetings and participation at ISO technical committee (TC) and working group (WG) Meetings. The conceptual model on standard setting also involves preparatory work to be done by each participating country and its participating stakeholders before the workshops. This facilitates local initiatives and self-propelled standardisation activities in the region. The following events has been organised in the project:
• Pre-seminar and subsequent ISO meetings in Vienna, Austria, November 2009
• Regional workshop in Amman, Jordan, January 2010
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Tokyo, Japan, February 2010
• Regional workshop in Tunis, Tunisia, May 2010
• Regional workshop in Beirut, Lebanon, June 2010
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Léon, Mexico, July 2010
• Regional worksop in Cairo, Egypt, November 2010
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Trieste, Italy, January 2011
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Oslo, Norway, June 2011
• Building institutional capacity on standard setting in the East Africa Community (EAC) region
The project aimed to build capacity among private and public sectors in the EAC region to set and influence international standards. Two real cases, in two different projects, has been used to involve stakeholders from the region in the development of the new ISO standards on Carbon Footprint of Products (ISO 14067), and Sustainability criteria for Bioenergy (ISO 13065). These standards are expected to be launched to the market in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The projects was supported by Sida and has been performed during 2010-2011.
Participants in the project have represented companies, institutes, universities, governmental bodies and NGOs from the following countries in the region: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
As in the MENA-project, se above, SIS methodology on building institutional capacity on standard setting has been used in the project. The activities has been planned and executed in cooperation with the regional partner East African Community Secretariat and the national standards bodies in the region. The following events has been organised in the project:
• Regional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, May 2010
• Regional workshop in Kampala, Uganda, May 2010
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Léon, Mexico, July 2010
• Regional worksop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 2010
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Trieste, Italy, January 2011
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Oslo, Norway, June 2011
• Building institutional capacity on standard setting in the South and South East Asia (SESA) regions
In 2011, SIS, with support from Sida, developed capacity on standard setting among stakeholders from private and public sectors from the regions. As in the EAC project, see above, the new ISO standard on Sustainability criteria for Bioenergy (ISO 13065) currently under development has been used as a case study for the project.
Participants in the project have represented companies, institutes, universities, governmental bodies and NGOs from the following countries in the regions: Viet Nam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangaldesh.
SIS methodology on building institutional capacity on standard setting has been used for the project. The project activities has been organised in cooperation with the regional organisation South Asias Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) and the national standards bodies in the regions. The following events has been performed in the project:
• Regional workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 2011
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Frankfurt, Germany, May 2011
• Pre-seminar and ISO meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, October 2011
• Durban COP 17 Trade and Climate Change Symposium, South Africa: Session ““Promoting trade and sustainable development through the influence and use of international standards.”
SIS, in collaboration with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) developed a session at the ICTSD Symposium at Durban COP 17, 5-6 December, 2011, with the title “Promoting Trade and Sustainable Development Through the Influence and use of International Standards.” The session was supported by the State Secreatriat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland.
The purpose with SIS part of the symposium was to show the audience examples of local African initiatives on how to involve and take advantage of the international standard setting process. Another purpose is to demonstrate a practical approach and use of the the new ISO standard on Carbon Footprint of Products when calculating carbon emissions.
The overall aims of the SIS session were:
1. Raise awareness on how local African initiatives can promote sustainable development
and trade opportunities through the involvement in international standards setting work.
2. Raise awareness on the practical use of the life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology
(described in the new ISO standard on Carbon Footprint of products) to quantify carbon
emissions through the supply chain. Focus on agriculture and horticulture products.
• Planning Meeting: Needs of Capacity Building to establish long-term Partner Driven Cooperation between Namibia and Sweden
I cooperation with the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI), SIS organised a meeting in Windhoek, Namibia in October 2010. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the needs of capacity building within the areas of standardisation, metrology and conformity assessment in order to increase a long term partner driven cooperation between Namibia and Sweden. The meetings was supported by Sida.
One objective with the meeting was to identify potential Swedish and Namibian actors to be involved in a future project to promote sustainable partner driven cooperation. A second objective was to achieve consensus among participating stakeholders on areas in need of capacity building that could generate long-term mutual benefits. The framework of the discussions was standardisation, certification and metrology.
• The Stockholm conference on “Climate change, trade and standardisation - in a development perspective” (CCTS)
SIS, in collaboration with the Swedish National Board of Trade, organised the CCTS conference in Stockholm, Sweden in November 2009. It was exclusively addressed to developing countries and a result of the Swedish Trade Minister´s announcement at the climate conference in Bali in December 2007. It offered a unique opportunity for the participants and the lecturers to bring their own perspectives on the issue. It brought a comprehensive approach to questions related to climate change, trade and standardisation. The conference was supported by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sida and ISO.
The purpose of the Stockholm conference was to build awareness about standardisation as the engine to increase climate-related trade for the developing countries. The ambition of the conference was to introduce more extensive initiatives and activities to develop the capacity within those countries to take advantage of the increasing climate-related trade. During three days, 90 participants from more than 50 developing countries did attend the conference.
• Capacity Development of African Standardisation
Supported by Sida, SIS organised workshops in cooperation with the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) with the aim of improve the impact of standards in African societies by strengthening the standardisation organisation, their staff, stakeholders, and consumers.
Managing Directors of ARSO members (national standards bodies) from the following countries participated: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Cote'd'Ivoire, D.R. Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The activities including three different steps:
1. Preparation workshop in Stockholm, Sweden in November 2006;
2. Workshop on "Standards for trade, consumer protection and health", organised by ARSO in Mombasa, Kenya;
3. A follow-up meeting in conjunction with the ARSO General Assembly in Senegal in February 2007.
CSR seminars in South Africa and Botswana
SIS was invited by the Swedish Trade Council to participate in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) seminars in Johannesburg and Gaborone. SIS Project Manager together with one of our external experts, took the airplane to the southest part of Africa to talk and discuss CSR. CSR is a well-known topic among many stakeholders worldwide, but what does it include and how can various companies, organisations and institutions work with CSR?
With support from Sida’s program for partner driven cooperation, the Swedish Trade Council arranged seminars in the neighbouring countries to highlight CSR. The seminars also gave, local and Swedish companies represented in the region, an opportunity to improve their knowledge, discuss and ask questions, all related to CSR issues. CSR is a broad concept that includes a wide range of different topics, such as environment, economic, human rights, labour policies etc.
SIS participated very actively together with our members, in the development of ISO 26000, the international standard about Social Responsibility. During the development of the standard, the countries decided to delete the word ”corporate” as the standard covers a wider spectrum and is not limited to corporate entities. Therefore is the ISO standard called ”Social Responsibility”.
Around 100 countries participated in the standard setting process with a strong representation from developing countries. It is even said to be the world’s largest stakeholder dialogue!
At the seminars, a brief introduction to why CSR is important and how SIS works with other national standards bodies to share and increase knowledge and expertise within the standardisation field, was given. Further an overview was held with focus on the development of ISO 26000, what the standard includes, how it can be used as a tool when implementing a CSR system and what challenges many companies and organisations face.
Present at the seminars were various local and national companies, organisations and government agencies as well as Swedish companies with representation in South Africa and Botswana. Together with SIS, they presented their work around CSR, CSR systems but also how important the work around HIV/Aids is for the sustainable development in these countries.
SIS is very pleased to be invited to these type of events as it is a perfect way to spread knowledge and information not only about CSR and international standards but also to support trade opportunities and collaboration between Sweden and other countries.
Workshop on sustainable business in Namibia
SIS held in cooperation with Namibia Business Innovation Centre (NBIC) a workshop with the title “Sustainable Business in Namibia”. The workshop was held in Windhoek, Namibia 17-19 April 2012, with support by Sida.
The aim of the workshop was to introduce participants – with a special focus on Namibian SMEs and entrepreneurs – to concepts of sustainable business. International and local initiatives that address the issue were used together with case studies from Namibia and Sweden. The workshop also aimed to raise awareness on the processes behind the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and ISO 26000 on Social Responsibility to demonstrate standardisation as a platform for partner driven cooperation (PDC). The cooperation involved the Namibia Employers’ Federation (NEF) through the Global Compact Network Namibia (GCNN).
The workshop was a 3-day activity and included four different steps:
1. Vision and values
2. Apply methods and tools to define your strategy
3. Integrating sustainability in the business model
4. Communicate and report
Presentations by Namibian and Swedish experts were given as well as practical examples from sustainable brands, companies and organisations in the two countries.
In cooperation with the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI), focus was also on improving the awareness among representatives from Namibian business sector on standardisation processes at national and international levels. The importance of developing a sustainable capacity within the private sector in order to increase the participation in the standardisation processes was highlight, where focus was on standards related to sustainability.
The workshop also functioned as a platform to enhance new networks and PDC opportunities that can support the development of sustainable business in Namibia.
Bioenergy workshop in Kenya
SIS organised together with Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) a workshop with focus on the ISO standard on sustainability criteria for Bioenergy in Nairobi in October last year. Together with experts from Germany, Canada and the Netherlands, SIS discussed with stakeholders from East African Community and South- and Southeast Asia regions important issues and concerns related to the new ISO standard.
During two days, fruitful discussions on areas such as food security, land use rights and biodiversity took place with experts from both public and private sectors from the regions. Many countries were represented: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Cambodia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
When developing international standards, developing countries are often disadvantaged as those are not adjusted to their conditions and needs. Currently, ISO is developing a new standard with aim to function as guiding principles on how companies producing Bioenergy should report on different sustainability criteria. It is therefore very important that specific needs and priorities from developing countries are raised during the development of the new standard. How can we ensure, for instance, that access to food and land will not be jeopardized when producing Bioenergy?
At the workshop, the importance of actively participate in the standardisation process was highlighted. In order to develop international standards and to become more global relevant, it requires that experts from developing countries are involved in the ISO work. It is also important, that those experts represent different sectors of the society, such as companies, institutions, universities, governmental bodies and NGOs.
SIS’s external experts moderated a session where discussion on critical issues that are of essential value to the developing countries. As moderators they challenged the stakeholders to argue and convince the audience on why their needs and proposals should be considered in the new standard. Furthermore the moderators trained the participants on how to write text proposals in a way that could increase the possibilities of having them discussed and approved by the ISO working group. This training session was aimed to prepare the participants for the subsequent ISO meeting that was held the coming days after the workshop, also in Nairobi.
SIS believes that the outcome of the workshop was successful in two ways – first, it increased the capacity among the stakeholders from the developing countries on how to develop international standards; second, it enhanced the possibilities of creating a new ISO standard that is more global relevant considering the unique needs from developing countries.
SIS at Rio+20 conference
SIS present in Rio de Janeiro during United Nation’s Rio+20 conference
The follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development that was arranged 20 years ago took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012.
With support from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SIS in cooperation with the Swiss organisation, ITC (International Trade Centre) arranged a seminar at one of the side-events during the UN conference. The seminar was part of the “Trade and Sustainable Development Symposium” arranged by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, ICTSD.
SIS and ITC’s session focused on environmental standards and the opportunities and challenges that developing countries face in promoting trade and sustainable development. International standards are seen as important components when supporting trade and to gain a more environmentally friendly development that is sustainable on a global level. In order to get international standards that are relevant and applicable globally, an active participation and commitment by various stakeholders from both private and public sectors worldwide is crucial.
During SIS/ITC’s session particular focus was given to developing countries experiences with Bioenergy and Product Carbon Footprint standards. SIS, together with two experts from Kenya and Pakistan, presented real case studies of the work that has been done in regards to international standard setting and standard implementation and the need and importance for this work to continue. Issues like food security, land use rights and biodiversity are some of the key issues for these countries in the international debate on Bioenergy and Carbon Footprint.
ITC presented its new exporter’s guide on ”Product Carbon Footprinting Standards in the Agri-Food Sector”, developed to assist developing countries to know new requirements on carbon product standards and potential mitigation opportunities. In addition, ITC provided examples of its current project on trade and carbon standards in Kenya with small and medium sized enterprises and trade support institutions in overcoming these obstacles and working with them to mitigate carbon emissions in line with market requirements.
Carina Svensson, Project Manager represented SIS in this event.