Credibility Principles Help Businesses Identify Reliable Partners To Meet Sustainability Demands

• ISEAL’s Credibility Principles define the core values and critical attributes of credible and effective market-based sustainability systems.
• Businesses can use them to identify credible sustainability tools that help address environmental and social issues within their supply chains.

October 26, 2023 /3BL/ - As the world’s sustainability challenges intensify, the demands placed on business have never been greater – from developing science-based net-zero strategies, to aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to disclosing their risks, impacts and dependencies on nature as required under the new Global Biodiversity Framework. Whether it’s to comply with new regulatory requirements, protect their public reputation or guard against supply risks, keeping on top of social and environmental issues is increasingly central to business success.

Voluntary sustainability standards and similar systems can help businesses to navigate this challenging terrain. But there’s a sometimes bewildering range of labels, standards and accreditations out there, with more than 200 ecolabels in use in the EU alone. So how are businesses supposed to identify which sustainability systems will make reliable, trustworthy and effective partners?

The answer is to look for systems that follow the ISEAL Credibility Principles. Developed through global consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, the 10 principles define the core values and key attributes of credible and effective sustainability systems, and outline why these matter for improving sustainability performance and delivering impacts. They cover areas such as multistakeholder engagement, impartiality and transparency, along with demonstrating measurable progress, ensuring continual improvement and adding value.

Businesses can use the Credibility Principles to benchmark different systems and tools, and select those that will help them deliver against their sustainability objectives and drive real impact and value. Research has shown that, as well as contributing to positive environmental and social impacts, credible sustainability systems provide multiple business benefits – from risk management and monitoring, to market access, to increased revenue and reputational benefits.

To help put these principles into practice, ISEAL will soon be releasing its newly updated Code of Good Practice. Developed through extensive stakeholder consultation, the Code outlines how sustainability systems should apply the Credibility Principles in key areas such as assurance, impacts measurement and standard-setting. It also covers emerging areas of good practice that are particularly relevant for businesses.

One of these is due diligence – an increasingly important concern in the light of new legislation in the EU and elsewhere. While they are not a substitute for corporate due diligence, credible sustainability systems can provide many of the building blocks – such as providing information to help analysis of human rights and environmental risks in supply chains, and a means to engage suppliers and support smallholder producers.

Claims management is another important area, as sustainability claims come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the public. Systems that follow the ISEAL Credibility Principles and Code of Good Practice enable businesses to communicate about their sustainability initiatives and impacts in a transparent, trustworthy way, while avoiding greenwash and misleading claims.

ISEAL’s Executive Director, Karin Kreider, said: “For businesses that are serious about sustainability, credibility matters. We’ve worked with multiple stakeholders from all over the world to define the principles behind credible sustainability systems, and demonstrate how the principles can be applied in practice. We believe our Credibility Principles can help businesses meet the many demands they face while playing their part in tackling the biggest social and environmental issues of our time.”

Notes to editor:

ISEAL supports ambitious sustainability systems and their partners to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. With a focus on credible practices, it advances scalable and effective solutions that make a lasting impact. Through its work to drive collective efforts, ISEAL makes markets a force for good.

ISEAL defines credible practice for sustainability standards and similar systems through its Codes of Good Practice and guidance materials. Read these on ISEAL’s website: www.iseal.org.

ISEAL’s 10 Credibility Principles cover sustainability impacts, collaboration, value creation, measurable progress, stakeholder engagement, transparency, impartiality, reliability, truthfulness and continual improvement. These principles are explained in this short video.

The ISEAL Credibility Principles were first published in 2013 and revised in 2020 through a global consultation process. The principles have become an international reference for defining the foundations of credible practice for sustainability standards and other market-based sustainability initiatives.