Standards Map: The complete guide to voluntary sustainability standards in international trade

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a technical cooperation agency, jointly established by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). ITC helps developing countries and countries in transition become more competitive in global markets, to speed economic development and to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

Standards Map

Products can gain greater access to international markets by complying with voluntary sustainability and quality standards. Compliance to such standards can improve product competitiveness while also improving social, labor or environmental impacts. Such benefits require investment of financial and technical resources to understand, identify and meet these standards. This is often more difficult for small producers.

Standards Map is one of the most detailed and comprehensive sustainability standards databases in the world. This user-friendly tool can assist large companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the development of a roadmap to incorporate sustainability requirements demanded by international buyers.

For example, Latin American companies can review details and requirements of the National Organic Program of the United States Department of Agriculture of America (USDA), the fulfillment of which opens the doors of the organic market in the US.

The tool is available online as a global public good, free of charge. It allows you to analyze and compare more than 200 sustainability initiatives applicable to more than 80 sectors in approximately 180 countries. Standards Map is part of ITC’s suite of Market Analysis Tools, which have more than 500,000 registered users.