ITC’s new web-based interactive market analysis tool, Standards Map, allows users to review and compare standards and their requirements through user-friendly online navigation and searching.
Complementing other ITC resources including Trade Map, Market Access Map and Investment Map, the interactive Standards Map tool allows users to review information on over 30 voluntary standards covering more than 40 product groups and referencing over 170 research papers.
Free to users in developing countries, Standards Map centralizes, organizes and provides immediate access to information on private (non-governmental) standards and related research results from research institutions, standards organizations, development agencies, consultancies and academia. It does so in a transparent manner, thereby strengthening the capacity of producers, exporters and buyers to participate in more sustainable production and trade. Importantly, it helps inform manufacturers and retailers that are interested in including sustainability considerations in their purchasing decisions.
In most cases, the standards in Standards Map have been developed by private entities, including firms, industry organizations and non-governmental organizations. The best known examples of these standards include Fairtrade, Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN)/Rainforest Alliance and Organic.
Standards Map not only allows users to browse through 600-plus criteria per standard, it also provides pre-set queries on, for example, environmental requirements or how a standard is implemented on the ground. These queries facilitate browsing the database by grouping criteria by topic. By selecting a topic the user gets the information per topic and standard in two clicks.
Users may also search the information by keyword, such as ‘genetically modified organism’, ‘labour’, ‘carbon’, or ‘certification process’ and compare the requirements standards have regarding the respective keyword.
For example, a Kenyan tea exporter seeking information on the standards applying to certification of tea in his country would go to Standards Map, and by searching for ‘tea’ and ‘Kenya’ would obtain a list of standards applying to the certification and/or verification of this product in Kenya.
This is the vital information the exporter needs when considering the advantages of complying with a standard and the challenges to be met in meeting that standard. Instead of searching the web for the names of standards certifying tea, it takes the user just three clicks to get to the information relevant to their circumstances and location on Standards Map.
The user, in this case the exporter, will see that the Ethical Tea Partnership, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Utz Certified are all active in Kenya. Next, the user may wish to compare the relevant standards. Less experienced users can apply pre-set queries, while more experienced users can browse the entire dataset or use keywords in the advanced search module. And with one more click the user will be able to compare the selected information among the selected standards.
Standards Map has much more to offer than this search tool on standards. The website also provides users with:
• The main research results by product, country and standard;
• An easy-to-navigate glossary on all important terms around standards;
• The Standards Map team’s own publications, putting into perspective research carried out on standards;
• An FAQ section on the website and standards; and
• An ‘at a glance’ section that provides four-page summaries outlining the main aspects of each standard .
Launched in February 2011, the number of users that have already accessed the site proves the extensive interest the topic provokes. Although workshops and training sessions on how to use the website and how to carry out an analysis that provides the information necessary to make sound decisions on standards have not yet been initiated on a large scale, 3,705 users accessed the website during its first six weeks. In February, 683 users registered to use the standard analysis tool. Statistics from the first two weeks of March show that 21.1% of users come back to the website within a period of two weeks (see figure 1).
Ultimately, the tool’s objective is to strengthen the capacity of producers and exporters to participate in more sustainable production and trade by assisting them in the pursuit of opportunities unlocked through meeting voluntary standards, an approach that carries weight with consumers in world markets. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, and their workforces, stand to benefit from low-cost access to information on standards organized in such a way as to be readily accessible and understandable. To achieve this aim the information provided needs to be very detailed.
This objective and the level of detailed information provided are what make Standards Map more user-friendly than similar websites, such as ecolabelling.org or ekobai.org. While these sites are useful for their respective constituents, they are not geared towards producers and exporters in developing countries and do not allow these groups to really understand the differences between standards. This is a major challenge that SMEs in developing countries, ITC’s main target group, face. While some argue that private standards might act as barriers to trade, the fact is that understanding the actual content of standards, such as their requirements or the certification process, opens the way to significant benefits. It also highlights the challenges certification poses, such as financial or bureaucratic requirements, and the opportunities that might come with compliance with a standard. These can include better product quality, more stable relationships with buyers or higher prices.
All of these aspects will be covered in the training activities that accompany the Standards Map website. Those will be based on the information captured in the databases of standards, its related research and the knowledge derived from these databases by the Standards Map team. Training sessions will include several components and shed light on questions such as: what is sustainable trade; what kinds of standards apply to which products, markets and businesses; what are the specific requirements for each standard; and what are the implications for costs, management and production methods while getting certified?
You can access Standards Map at www.standardsmap.org or www.intracen.org/marketanalysis/.