Connecting businesses along sustainable value chains

This virtual marketplace allows users to share their business and sustainability profiles with buyers, traders, standards organizations, certification bodies, financiers and others. The marketplace creates a better environment for business engagement with value chain partners by enabling farmers, processors and manufacturers to share diagnostic reports with buyers looking to source sustainable products and services.

How to get on the Network?

1. Creating a user profile

Users of the Sustainability Network, which include farmers, producers, processors and manufacturers, can benefit from the services of the Sustainability Network by creating basic sustainability profiles. These profiles include information about their business, production and trading activities. User sustainability profiles can be created through multiple entry points:

• Directly on the Sustainability Network website (online);
• By obtaining an invitation from a user’s business partner, to join their own sustainability network (online);
• By being included in the network by partners collecting the necessary data in the field (offline).

2. Sustainability Business Profile

Users can enhance their basic profile by adding more information about their production and business practices. This could include a statement of existing compliance with any sustainability standards, or a self-assessment of the capacity for future compliance with selected standards.

The self-assessment questionnaire can be completed online from the website, or offline. Once completed, the system informs businesses about their current commitment levels measured against requirements set forth by standards initiatives. It also generates a gap analysis, pointing out the areas where the business may need to improve sustainability practices.

3. User dasboard

Sustainability Business Profiles are centralized in a secured and private user dashboard. The dashboard enables users to:

• Keep track of their sustainability assessment and any progress they wish to record;
• Connect and share information with others on the Sustainability Network;
• Decide what to share publicly, and when;
• Request a Global Location Number (GLN), issued by the Global Standard 1 (GS1) to link to GS1-enabled traceability systems.

Users of the Sustainability Network always have full ownership of their data. The Network operates in a fully secured environment.

How does the Network benefits users?

Smallholders and SMEs: Understanding compliance, boosting visibility

Sharing their profile on the Sustainability Network enables producers to link up to traders, international buyers and others in the global value chain that prioritize sustainable sourcing. Those on the demand side of the value chain contact specific businesses based on their Sustainability Business Profiles.

Buyers and retailers: Sustainable supply chain management

Buyers and retailers access the Sustainability Network to engage with their value chains. They invite existing or potential suppliers and business partners – future Sustainability Network users – to connect in the platform. With this functionality, the Network creates an easy-to-navigate environment to exchange information on sustainability practices and, ultimately, to do business.

Decision-makers: Data analytics

The Sustainability Network gives buyers, retailers, standards organizations and policymakers access to unique sustainability information and intelligence. Aggregate analytics can be generated focusing on particular product groups or areas by using geographical data. It helps them make decisions tailored to solving various sustainability-related issues and challenges.