BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a51eb69c9807 DTSTART:20250107T080000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20250107T160000Z LOCATION:Online\, SUMMARY:BioTrade roundtables: Biodiversity and Voluntary Sustainability Sta ndards CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standard s that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produced\, process ed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standards and gende r equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serve as an effe ctive tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt su stainable practices.The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable trade\, exam ining their role in addressing biodiversity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.Th e series of roundtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of U NCTAD and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, K U Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affa irs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, bi odiversity and sustainable development."\;ObjectivesMap and understand current VSS approaches to biodiversity conservationAssess possibilities a nd limitations of VSS in biodiversity conservationExamine implementation c hallenges for low-income countries and SMEsAnalyze relationships with exis ting frameworks (GBF\, SDGs)Explore harmonization with emerging regulation sIdentify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitiesWhat will take place? The event consists of three online roundtables:3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. Roundtable 1: VSS and practitioners’ perspectives3–5 pm\, 8 January 20 25. Roundtable 2: Academic research and knowledge experts’ discussion3 –4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. Roundtable 3: Joint discussion on future res earch agendaAll sessions will be conducted in English via Microsoft Teams. Target audienceVSS organizations and standard-setting bodiesAcademic resea rchers and expertsGovernment representativesInternational organizationsNGO s and development agenciesPrivate sector stakeholdersCertification bodies and auditors<\;p>\;Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standards that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produc ed\, processed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability me trics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standar ds and gender equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade ag reements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serv e as an effective tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt sustainable practices.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conser vation and sustainable trade\, examining their role in addressing biodiver sity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The series of roun dtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of UNCTAD and the Un ited Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, KU Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, biodiversity and s ustainable development."\;<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Objectives<\;/h4&g t\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Map and understand current VSS approaches to bi odiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Assess possibilities and l imitations of VSS in biodiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Exa mine implementation challenges for low-income countries and SMEs<\;/li&g t\;<\;li>\;Analyze relationships with existing frameworks (GBF\, SDGs) <\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Explore harmonization with emerging regulations&l t\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Identify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitie s<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?<\;/h4>\;& lt\;p>\;The event consists of three online roundtables:<\;/p>\;<\; ul>\;<\;li>\;3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 1 : VSS and practitioners’ perspectives<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\; li>\;3–5 pm\, 8 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 2: Academic r esearch and knowledge experts’ discussion<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;& lt\;li>\;3–4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 3: Jo int discussion on future research agenda<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\ ;/ul>\;<\;p>\;All sessions will be conducted in English via Microsof t Teams.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4>\;<\;ul>\;&l t\;li>\;VSS organizations and standard-setting bodies<\;/li>\;<\;l i>\;Academic researchers and experts<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Government representatives<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;International organizations<\;/l i>\;<\;li>\;NGOs and development agencies<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Pr ivate sector stakeholders<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Certification bodies and auditors<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps:/ /unctad.org/meeting/biotrade-roundtables-biodiversity-and-voluntary-sustai nability-standards DTSTAMP:20260711T070617Z END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a51eb69c9843 DTSTART:20250108T080000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20250108T160000Z LOCATION:Online\, SUMMARY:BioTrade roundtables: Biodiversity and Voluntary Sustainability Sta ndards CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standard s that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produced\, process ed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standards and gende r equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serve as an effe ctive tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt su stainable practices.The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable trade\, exam ining their role in addressing biodiversity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.Th e series of roundtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of U NCTAD and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, K U Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affa irs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, bi odiversity and sustainable development."\;ObjectivesMap and understand current VSS approaches to biodiversity conservationAssess possibilities a nd limitations of VSS in biodiversity conservationExamine implementation c hallenges for low-income countries and SMEsAnalyze relationships with exis ting frameworks (GBF\, SDGs)Explore harmonization with emerging regulation sIdentify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitiesWhat will take place? The event consists of three online roundtables:3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. Roundtable 1: VSS and practitioners’ perspectives3–5 pm\, 8 January 20 25. Roundtable 2: Academic research and knowledge experts’ discussion3 –4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. Roundtable 3: Joint discussion on future res earch agendaAll sessions will be conducted in English via Microsoft Teams. Target audienceVSS organizations and standard-setting bodiesAcademic resea rchers and expertsGovernment representativesInternational organizationsNGO s and development agenciesPrivate sector stakeholdersCertification bodies and auditors<\;p>\;Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standards that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produc ed\, processed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability me trics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standar ds and gender equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade ag reements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serv e as an effective tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt sustainable practices.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conser vation and sustainable trade\, examining their role in addressing biodiver sity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The series of roun dtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of UNCTAD and the Un ited Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, KU Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, biodiversity and s ustainable development."\;<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Objectives<\;/h4&g t\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Map and understand current VSS approaches to bi odiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Assess possibilities and l imitations of VSS in biodiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Exa mine implementation challenges for low-income countries and SMEs<\;/li&g t\;<\;li>\;Analyze relationships with existing frameworks (GBF\, SDGs) <\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Explore harmonization with emerging regulations&l t\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Identify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitie s<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?<\;/h4>\;& lt\;p>\;The event consists of three online roundtables:<\;/p>\;<\; ul>\;<\;li>\;3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 1 : VSS and practitioners’ perspectives<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\; li>\;3–5 pm\, 8 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 2: Academic r esearch and knowledge experts’ discussion<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;& lt\;li>\;3–4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 3: Jo int discussion on future research agenda<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\ ;/ul>\;<\;p>\;All sessions will be conducted in English via Microsof t Teams.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4>\;<\;ul>\;&l t\;li>\;VSS organizations and standard-setting bodies<\;/li>\;<\;l i>\;Academic researchers and experts<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Government representatives<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;International organizations<\;/l i>\;<\;li>\;NGOs and development agencies<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Pr ivate sector stakeholders<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Certification bodies and auditors<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps:/ /unctad.org/meeting/biotrade-roundtables-biodiversity-and-voluntary-sustai nability-standards DTSTAMP:20260711T070617Z END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a51eb69c9849 DTSTART:20250109T080000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20250109T160000Z LOCATION:Online\, SUMMARY:BioTrade roundtables: Biodiversity and Voluntary Sustainability Sta ndards CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standard s that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produced\, process ed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standards and gende r equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serve as an effe ctive tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt su stainable practices.The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable trade\, exam ining their role in addressing biodiversity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.Th e series of roundtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of U NCTAD and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, K U Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affa irs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, bi odiversity and sustainable development."\;ObjectivesMap and understand current VSS approaches to biodiversity conservationAssess possibilities a nd limitations of VSS in biodiversity conservationExamine implementation c hallenges for low-income countries and SMEsAnalyze relationships with exis ting frameworks (GBF\, SDGs)Explore harmonization with emerging regulation sIdentify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitiesWhat will take place? The event consists of three online roundtables:3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. Roundtable 1: VSS and practitioners’ perspectives3–5 pm\, 8 January 20 25. Roundtable 2: Academic research and knowledge experts’ discussion3 –4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. Roundtable 3: Joint discussion on future res earch agendaAll sessions will be conducted in English via Microsoft Teams. Target audienceVSS organizations and standard-setting bodiesAcademic resea rchers and expertsGovernment representativesInternational organizationsNGO s and development agenciesPrivate sector stakeholdersCertification bodies and auditors<\;p>\;Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standards that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produc ed\, processed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability me trics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standar ds and gender equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade ag reements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serv e as an effective tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt sustainable practices.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conser vation and sustainable trade\, examining their role in addressing biodiver sity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The series of roun dtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of UNCTAD and the Un ited Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, KU Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, biodiversity and s ustainable development."\;<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Objectives<\;/h4&g t\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Map and understand current VSS approaches to bi odiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Assess possibilities and l imitations of VSS in biodiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Exa mine implementation challenges for low-income countries and SMEs<\;/li&g t\;<\;li>\;Analyze relationships with existing frameworks (GBF\, SDGs) <\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Explore harmonization with emerging regulations&l t\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Identify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitie s<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?<\;/h4>\;& lt\;p>\;The event consists of three online roundtables:<\;/p>\;<\; ul>\;<\;li>\;3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 1 : VSS and practitioners’ perspectives<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\; li>\;3–5 pm\, 8 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 2: Academic r esearch and knowledge experts’ discussion<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;& lt\;li>\;3–4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 3: Jo int discussion on future research agenda<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\ ;/ul>\;<\;p>\;All sessions will be conducted in English via Microsof t Teams.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4>\;<\;ul>\;&l t\;li>\;VSS organizations and standard-setting bodies<\;/li>\;<\;l i>\;Academic researchers and experts<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Government representatives<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;International organizations<\;/l i>\;<\;li>\;NGOs and development agencies<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Pr ivate sector stakeholders<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Certification bodies and auditors<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps:/ /unctad.org/meeting/biotrade-roundtables-biodiversity-and-voluntary-sustai nability-standards DTSTAMP:20260711T070617Z END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a51eb69c984e DTSTART:20250110T080000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20250110T160000Z LOCATION:Online\, SUMMARY:BioTrade roundtables: Biodiversity and Voluntary Sustainability Sta ndards CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standard s that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produced\, process ed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standards and gende r equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serve as an effe ctive tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt su stainable practices.The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable trade\, exam ining their role in addressing biodiversity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.Th e series of roundtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of U NCTAD and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, K U Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affa irs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, bi odiversity and sustainable development."\;ObjectivesMap and understand current VSS approaches to biodiversity conservationAssess possibilities a nd limitations of VSS in biodiversity conservationExamine implementation c hallenges for low-income countries and SMEsAnalyze relationships with exis ting frameworks (GBF\, SDGs)Explore harmonization with emerging regulation sIdentify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitiesWhat will take place? The event consists of three online roundtables:3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. Roundtable 1: VSS and practitioners’ perspectives3–5 pm\, 8 January 20 25. Roundtable 2: Academic research and knowledge experts’ discussion3 –4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. Roundtable 3: Joint discussion on future res earch agendaAll sessions will be conducted in English via Microsoft Teams. Target audienceVSS organizations and standard-setting bodiesAcademic resea rchers and expertsGovernment representativesInternational organizationsNGO s and development agenciesPrivate sector stakeholdersCertification bodies and auditors<\;p>\;Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standards that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produc ed\, processed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability me trics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standar ds and gender equality. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade ag reements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, they serv e as an effective tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt sustainable practices.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The roundtables aim to assess the current landscape of VSS in relation to biodiversity conser vation and sustainable trade\, examining their role in addressing biodiver sity loss which is accelerating at a record pace across marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The series of roun dtables is co-organized under the BioTrade Initiative of UNCTAD and the Un ited Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)\, KU Leuven\, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) under the Global BioTrade Programme\, "\;Linking trade\, biodiversity and s ustainable development."\;<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Objectives<\;/h4&g t\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Map and understand current VSS approaches to bi odiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Assess possibilities and l imitations of VSS in biodiversity conservation<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Exa mine implementation challenges for low-income countries and SMEs<\;/li&g t\;<\;li>\;Analyze relationships with existing frameworks (GBF\, SDGs) <\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Explore harmonization with emerging regulations&l t\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Identify knowledge gaps for future UNCTAD activitie s<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?<\;/h4>\;& lt\;p>\;The event consists of three online roundtables:<\;/p>\;<\; ul>\;<\;li>\;3–5 pm\, 7 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 1 : VSS and practitioners’ perspectives<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\; li>\;3–5 pm\, 8 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 2: Academic r esearch and knowledge experts’ discussion<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;& lt\;li>\;3–4:30 pm\, 10 January 2025. <\;strong>\;Roundtable 3: Jo int discussion on future research agenda<\;/strong>\;<\;/li>\;<\ ;/ul>\;<\;p>\;All sessions will be conducted in English via Microsof t Teams.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4>\;<\;ul>\;&l t\;li>\;VSS organizations and standard-setting bodies<\;/li>\;<\;l i>\;Academic researchers and experts<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Government representatives<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;International organizations<\;/l i>\;<\;li>\;NGOs and development agencies<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Pr ivate sector stakeholders<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Certification bodies and auditors<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps:/ /unctad.org/meeting/biotrade-roundtables-biodiversity-and-voluntary-sustai nability-standards DTSTAMP:20260711T070617Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR