Workplace impacts of sustainability certification

On Thursday, 26 May, SOMO is organising a meeting for policymakers from sustainability certification bodies, manufacturers, supermarkets, governments and NGOs. In this private meeting, preliminary research on the impact of sustainability certification for working conditions in Peru (fruit and vegetables), Colombia (coffee and cut flowers) and India (tea) will be presented and discussed.

Private label producers and supermarkets increasingly rely on sustainability certification. Popular global standards such as the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and UTZ Certified communicate trust to consumers and producers about good social, economic and environmental conditions in agricultural supply chains, but very little is actually known about the effectiveness of these initiatives on a workplace level.

Together with research partners around the world, SOMO aims to contribute to the understanding of the impact of sustainability certification, and to support approaches promoting decent working conditions for agricultural workers in developing countries. The meeting intends to advance this goal by dissemination of research among and informed discussion with key stakeholders.

The new research will be presented by and discussed with the researchers from Colombia and Peru and specifically pertains to certification of the Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified, Fair for Life, SA8000 and Florverde.