IISD's State of Sustainability Initiatives Review THEMATIC REVIEW Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals Leveraging sustainability standards for reporting on SDG progress May 2023 Elena Kosolapova, Rupal Verma, Laura Turley, Ann Wilkings IISD's State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals © 2023 International Institute for Sustainable Development Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. International Institute for Sustainable Development The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an award-winning independent think tank working to accelerate solutions for a stable climate, sustainable resource management, and fair economies. Our work inspires better decisions and sparks meaningful action to help people and the planet thrive. We shine a light on what can be achieved when governments, businesses, non-profits, and communities come together. IISD’s staff of more than 200 people, plus over 150 associates and consultants, come from across the globe and from many disciplines. With offices in Winnipeg, Geneva, Ottawa, and Toronto, our work affects lives in nearly 100 countries. IISD is a registered charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives core operating support from the Province of Manitoba and project funding from governments inside and outside Canada, United Nations agencies, foundations, the private sector, and individuals. State of Sustainability Initiatives IISD’s State of Sustainability Initiatives advances sustainable and inclusive value chains by providing credible and solutions-oriented research, dialogue, and strategic advice for decision-makers about voluntary sustainability standards and other supportive initiatives. IISD's State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals: Leveraging sustainability standards for reporting on SDG progress May 2023 Written by Elena Kosolapova, Rupal Verma, Laura Turley, and Ann Wilkings Preferred citation: Elena, K., Rupal, V., Laura, T., & Ann, W. (2023). IISD's State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals: Leveraging sustainability standards for reporting on SDG progress. International Institute for Sustainable Development. ii IISD.org/ssi Head Office 111 Lombard Avenue, Suite 325 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3B 0T4 Tel: +1 (204) 958-7700 Website: www.iisd.org/ssi Twitter: @IISD_ELP IISD's State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge, with gratitude, Sara Elder for her useful insights in conceptualizing the report, Marion Provencher for her contributions on bringing a gender lens, and Cristina Larrea for her valuable guidance and contributions throughout its development. We thank Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Vivek Voora, and Irena Zubcevic for their outstanding peer reviews. Livia Bizikova came up with the original idea for this report, for which we thank her. IISD.org/ssi iii IISD's State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals Preface The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have set an ambitious framework for the international community. As a result of their adoption in 2015, governments, international agencies, and stakeholders at all levels have been encouraged to adopt a systems approach to development that considers each of the 17 goals and 169 targets. Such an approach breaks with what had come before by focusing on monitoring implementation based on a robust set of indicators. Recognizing that implementation would be iterative and instructional, procedures to foster learning and share lessons learned through the analyses of these data and periodic national reporting on implementation plans, successes, and challenges were also built into this new agenda. The achievement of this ambitious agenda requires an all-hands-on-deck approach to implementation. Since its adoption, governments and stakeholders at all levels have found and fostered ways in which their activities could—or should—feed into SDG implementation. Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) are important tools for governments, producers, buyers, consumers, and communities to discern h