Southeast Asia: SME Sustainability Standards Navigation Toolkit

Summary

The surge in demand for sustainable products and the global shift toward sustainable trade and finance have resulted in a proliferation of complex sustainability standards and regulations. These standards, some voluntary and others mandatory, pose challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in understanding and adhering to them. This difficulty affects SMEs' competitiveness and diminishes their impact on productivity, employment, and growth. Failure to comply with these standards jeopardizes market access for SMEs and their supply chains. To address this, the Asian Development Bank’s Trade & Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP), in collaboration with the International Trade Centre, aims to augment the existing self-assessment module of the ITC Standards Map by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to create an SME Standards Navigation Toolkit. This solution supports SMEs by raising awareness of sustainability standards and evaluating their readiness for certification. It offers an online self-assessment to guide them towards certification, providing tailored recommendations for sustainable practices and compliance with relevant standards, ensuring alignment with their business goals. The toolkit will help SMEs in ADB developing member countries (DCMs) increase their awareness of sustainability and regulatory standards, with an initial focus on social and labour sustainability in the textile and apparel sector. As this initiative progresses from its pilot phase, there is a clear pathway for scaling up. Options for expansion include transitioning from a pilot to a fully funded project by ADB.