概要
IISD’s SSI Review: Standards and Investments in Sustainable Agriculture looks at voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) from the investor’s perspective and shows that sustainability standards promote synergies between sound business practices and better environmental and social performance to catalyze much-needed investment in sustainable agriculture. The report benchmarks the production criteria of 12 widely adopted VSSs against the themes and subthemes of 10 popular sustainable finance frameworks. The researchers also surveyed 51 FSPs active across the globe to understand how sustainability affects investment decisions. They found that, in many cases, VSS and investment criteria overlap. With standards compliance, farmers improve their practices in many ways that facilitate financing, such as by keeping detailed records; conserving water, soil, and forests; and building good relationships with workers and communities. However, much more can be done to leverage standards to increase investment in sustainable agriculture and our report includes recommendations to standard-setting bodies, FSPs, and governments to leverage VSSs to attract much-needed investment in sustainable agriculture.