FAO chaired the Steering Committee meeting of the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards

Geneva – With the growing number of instruments to promote social, environmental and economic sustainability, including the voluntary sustainability standards, sustainability practices have been widely gaining attention from policy makers and businesses to consumers.  

Within this complex regulatory environment, UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) has been playing a crucial role as a forum by conducting analytical, empirical and capacity-building activities and  by assuring policy coherence, coordination and collaboration amongst the stakeholders to mitigate the impacts of these instruments and ensure inclusive sustainable development.   

FAO continues to chair the Steering Committee of UNFSS which is composed of key UN agencies working on the topic, including FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNIDO and UNECE. At this first meeting of 2026, the UNFSS Secretariat reported on UNFSS activities held since the last meeting held in May 2025, the Steering Committee was briefed on the upcoming events including the Leuven Conference which will take place on 27–29 October 2026 and themed on “Voluntary and Mandatory Sustainable Supply Chains Governance  Interactions, Impacts, Adoption and Future Pathways”;  and Earth Systems Conference in Bath, the United Kingdom, scheduled to take place in September 2026 amongst others. In addition, at the meeting the participating agencies shared updates on their key projects and initiatives.