Industry Sustainability Standards and Compliance: Navigating EU Regulations and Supply Chain Trust

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is broadening the scope of its Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) to include environmental sustainability alongside its existing focus on social standards. This expansion underscores CGF's commitment to leading sustainability practices within the industry.
 
As global businesses increasingly prioritize sustainability and navigate complex supply chains, ensuring environmental responsibility presents a significant challenge. The SSCI, which convenes consumer goods companies worldwide, aims to drive discussions on responsible sourcing and shape sustainability expectations across the industry.
 
The initiative now encompasses environmental sustainability, in addition to its established social criteria. It sets forth third-party accreditation standards aimed at ensuring industry-wide environmental sustainability across key areas:
 

 
Didier Bergeret, CGF's Sustainability Director, emphasized the importance of these standards in ensuring sustainable practices throughout vast supply chains. He highlighted the interconnectedness of social and environmental needs and urged the industry to adopt these criteria to build global trust in sustainability standards.
 
The initiative encourages industry schemes and businesses to align with these criteria and seek benchmarking against both social and new environmental standards. This approach aims to provide clarity amidst the complexity of supply chain visibility solutions, as not all existing schemes cover sustainability topics uniformly.
 
Since its inception, the SSCI has recognized several third-party auditing and certification schemes that meet its social sustainability benchmarks. This ongoing recognition process aims to establish best practices in primary production, manufacturing, processing, and at-sea operations across the consumer goods sector.
 
The expansion of the benchmark's scope coincides with rapid regulatory changes, notably the impending EU Deforestation Regulation set to take effect by the end of 2024.
 
Tamara Muruetagoiena, Vice President of Sustainability at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) and Chair of the SSCI's Environmental Working Group, emphasized the profound impact supply chains have on environmental sustainability, ecosystem health, and fair labor practices. She stressed the importance of robust supply chain approaches and standards that withstand scrutiny, highlighting the critical role of trusted social and environmental schemes.
 
"Ensuring trust in the environmental and social schemes we utilize is crucial for responsible businesses like ours," Muruetagoiena stated. "By adopting recognized schemes for social and environmental sustainability, IFPA and our industry peers gain assurance that SSCI Recognized standards meet the industry-agreed minimum requirements for sustainability."
 
Click here to find out more about the new environmental sustainability benchmark.