VSS Collaboration India
An initiative of Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) for Sustainability Standards organisations operating in India to be better informed about each other’s initiatives and explore opportunities to collaborate
Overview
Given the proliferation of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), producer organisations are often ill-informed or confused about their applicability. Experts worldwide have been calling for collaboration among VSS organisations. In keeping with the need for better interactions among VSS organizations, Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) kicked-off an initiative in January 2019 in Delhi by convening VSS organisations working in India to explore ‘mutual engagements and collaboration’. From CRB’s engagement and interactions with VSS organisations and various experts and actors, the need for collaboration among sustainability standards had been raised as an imperative.
Objectives
The objective of the VSS Collaboration India initiative of CRB is to:
- Create better mutual understanding of domain knowledge/expertise among various VSS Organisations in India
- Explore opportunities for (online and offline) collaborative actions
- Share and learn from each others’ experiences/approaches of promoting uptake of VSS in India
India and Sustainability Standards Conference: Interaction between VSS Standards Setters & Indian Stakeholders
CRB Annual Sustainability Conference India and Sustainability Standards, (www.sustainabilitystandards.in) offers a platform for international standards setting organisations/professionals working on VSS and other aspects of Sustainable/Responsible Business to interact with Indian stakeholders, across various sectors/thematic areas. Over the 6 years of implementing the annual Conference, CRB has been able to facilitate a multi-stakeholder led discourse, leading to certain actions on the ground.
Events
CRB organised a meeting intending to curate a conversation with members of the VSS Collaboration India, to promote implementation and uptake of Business and Human rights related interventions among Indian businesses, with the following objectives:
- Understand the role of VSS in the Business & Human Rights (BHR) landscape and agenda in India
- Align work of VSS organisations with priorities of the National Action Plan for India
- Strengthen the role of VSS organisations in promoting capacity on BHR related interventions among businesses
The workshop focused on enhancing understanding of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and how they align with the existing national frameworks and their relevance. Furthermore, it also explored ways and approaches in which VSS organisations can work together to pursue Business & Human Rights (BHR) outcomes pertaining to – policy, knowledge and capacity building.
CRB organised a meeting among its VSS working group to conceptualize the ‘VSS Collaboration India’ initiative and discuss its Goal/ Purpose, Structure (Governance, Constitution, Steering Committee, Working Groups), Activities (Annual Workplan, Responsibility Allocation, Coordination, Funding), and Roadmap (Theory of Change).
CRB organized a session on, ‘VSS contributions towards SDGs in India’, at its 7th India and Sustainability Standards Conference 2020. The session explored the contribution of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) to SDGs and chalks out a roadmap for VSS organisations in strengthening their contribution to SDGs.
Catch the full conversation here.
CRB convened the fifth meeting of the VSS Collaboration India (a coalition of VSS organisations working in India) on July 2, 2020. The objective was to discuss and learn from the perspectives and experiences of the VSS organisations over the course of the pandemic and the lockdown.
The discussions covered the following:
- Understand impacts of COVID19 on business continuity and sustainable business practices in India
- Discuss COVID19’s impact on VSS organisations & mitigation measures – sharing of experiences
- To share perspectives and suggestions from VSS organisations to ‘Build Back (Forward) Better’
Read the full report.
A fourth meeting of the VSS coalition was organised on March 18, 2020 on the subject of ‘VSS Contribution towards SDGs in India’ with its broad objective to discuss and share their approaches, experiences and lessons in pursuing various SDGs in India. The meeting was attended by ten VSS organisations. A senior official from NITI Aayog was also present in this meeting. The representatives from different VSS organisations presented various initiatives undertaken by them in India and their alignment with specific SDGs. The participants unanimously recognised SDG17, partnerships and collaboration, as a key to achieving other sectoral/thematic SDGs.
Read the full report.
On 23 August, 2019 CRB organized the third meeting in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by eight different VSS organizations. The meeting was structured around the following agenda points:
- Introduction to an Online B2B Marketplace for Sustainable Certified Products (new initiative of CRB)
- An overview of the CRB 6th Annual Sustainability Conference, 20-22 November, 2019 and various sessions and opportunities for VSS and other organizations to engage/participate
- ISEAL Alliance’s Standards Credibility Principles Review
Read the full report.
The second meeting was held on May 27, 2019 in New Delhi and it focused on the following two issues: (i) Uptake of Sustainability Standards among SMEs and Smallholders – Current Challenges, Supporting Factors and Existing Good Practices (ii) Engagement on Policy issues with relevant Government Agencies – Who? What? How?
Some key areas of the discussion were:
- Uptake of certifications among SMEs
- Alignment with local context (National Interpretation of Standards)
- Reducing audits and inspections
- Creating the market – role of millennial consumers
Read the full report.
The inaugural meeting of CRB’s initiative, ‘Walking Together with VSS in India’ was held on 17th January 2019. Ten organisations participated in the meeting to discuss the opportunities to collaborate on areas of common interests and challenges.
Based on the discussions, the following areas/subjects of common interest emerged from the discussions:
- Sharing information about various Sustainability Standards among themselves
- Uptake of Sustainability Standards among SMEs (expansion and achieving scale)
- Supporting Private Sector companies (buyers) on Supply Chain Transparency and Sustainability
- Engagement on Policy issues with relevant organs of the government
- Mindset change and engagement with decision makers (business and government)
Read the full report.
