1. Federal Department of Economic Affairs FDEA State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO Linking Producers to Markets through Private Voluntary Standards ISEAL Conference, Zurich, 8 June 2011 Hans-Peter Egler Head Trade Promotion State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development Trade Promotion

2. 2 Role of Governments in PVS Promotion EVD/SECO/Trade Promotion – Hans-Peter Egler Rationale for SECO intervention in PVS Premise: Sustainable trade contributes to poverty reduction Objective: Integration of developing countries into the world trade system Driver: Increased demand from high-price markets not only regarding quality, but also sustainability of production process Means: Help producers to respect international agreements as well as Private Voluntary Standards

3. 3 Role of Governments in PVS Promotion EVD/SECO/Trade Promotion – Hans-Peter Egler Examples of SECO interventions in PVS 1. Seed Funding: − Promote standards definition process and/or institutionalization of standard systems (e.g. Max Havelaar Switzerland; FLO) − Encourage multi-stakeholder approach, including developing country representatives (e.g. 4C; RTRS; BCI; RSB) 2. Capacitiy Building and Simplification of Systems − Improving capacities and training on standards for producers in developing countries (e.g. OFTCC/Helvetas) − Improving capacities in the area of auditing and certification in developing countries (e.g. Organic/FiBL) − Fostering cooperation among PVS to simplify systems and reduce costs for producers (e.g. ISEAL Scaling up; SCAN)

4. 4 Role of Governments in PVS Promotion EVD/SECO/Trade Promotion – Hans-Peter Egler Examples of SECO interventions in PVS 3. Information Dissemination and Faciliation of Use of Sustainability Standards in the North : − Awareness raising and development of tools to support use of private voluntary standards in public and private procurement (e.g. Fair Trade Fair; www.kompass-nachhaltigkeit.ch)www.kompass-nachhaltigkeit.ch 4. Impact Assessment − Assess the impact of voluntary standards against economic, social and environmental criteria and indicators (e.g. COSA)