Federal Department of Economic Affairs FDEA
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Linking Producers to Markets through Private Voluntary Standards
ISEAL Conference, Zurich, 8 June 2011
Hans-Peter Egler
Head Trade Promotion
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentTrade Promotion
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Role of Governments in PVS Promotion
EVD/SECO/Trade Promotion – Hans-Peter Egler
Rationale for SECO intervention in PVS
Premise:
Sustainable trade contributes to poverty reduction
Objective:
Integration of developing countries into the world trade system
Driver:
Increased demand from high-price markets not only regarding quality, but also sustainability of production process
Means:
Help producers to respect international agreements as well as Private Voluntary Standards
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Role of Governments in PVS Promotion
EVD/SECO/Trade Promotion – Hans-Peter Egler
Examples of SECO interventions in PVS
1. Seed Funding: Promote standards definition process and/or institutionalization
of standard systems (e.g. Max Havelaar Switzerland; FLO) Encourage multi-stakeholder approach, including developing
country representatives (e.g. 4C; RTRS; BCI; RSB)
2. Capacitiy Building and Simplification of Systems
Improving capacities and training on standards for producers in
developing countries (e.g. OFTCC/Helvetas) Improving capacities in the area of auditing and certification in
developing countries (e.g. Organic/FiBL) Fostering cooperation among PVS to simplify systems and
reduce costs for producers (e.g. ISEAL Scaling up; SCAN)
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Role of Governments in PVS Promotion
EVD/SECO/Trade Promotion – Hans-Peter Egler
Examples of SECO interventions in PVS
3. Information Dissemination and Faciliation of Use of Sustainability Standards in the North :
Awareness raising and development of tools to support use of private voluntary standards in public and private procurement (e.g. Fair Trade Fair; www.kompass-nachhaltigkeit.ch)
4. Impact Assessment
Assess the impact of voluntary standards against economic,
social and environmental criteria and indicators (e.g. COSA)
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