Business benefits of using sustainability standards: A meta-review
Commissioned by ISEAL, this report reviews the business benefits that using sustainability standards can deliver to various business entities along the length of the supply chain in four sectors including agriculture and fisheries. It also aims to gain understanding of how benefits materialise and the limitations to the delivery of such benefits. The review concludes that “Sustainability standards offer a wide range of early benefits to businesses along the supply chain which can materialise at business, supply chain and sector level” and that “The early benefits of using standards can significantly strengthen business value and sustainability impacts. Sustainability impact can also support the business value of businesses along the supply chain.” The review identified five different clusters of early benefits of using standards: sales and marketing, operations, procurement, stakeholder engagement and sector-wide change.