The Union has just signed an agreement with Imaflora, a Brazilian not for profit civil association (NGO) with the mission to encourage changes in forestry and agriculture, aiming to increase the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and the promotion of social benefits.

IMAFLORA is a member of the FSC and of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), as well as being a Certification Body to both systems. It is focused mainly on Brazil, but has equally audited in other South American and European countries.

Download the summary and application information here

The Union has signed agreements with three verification bodies: SGS Qualifor, IMO Control, and Fundacion Natura.

The Union is happy to announce the signature of agreements with three verification bodies, thus allowing them to carry out verification for the Union. Each is either part of the Rainforest Alliance/Sustainable Agriculture Network or accredited under the Forest Stewardship Council. SGS Qualifor is based in South Africa and has, through the SGS network, offices in more than 140 countries. They issued FSC certificates in 60 countries worldwide. The Swiss based IMO Control has offices in 7 countries and has issued FSC certificates in 10 worldwide. Fundacion Natura is the SAN member in Colombia and is one of the most renowned NGOs in this country.

The Union is working in developing agreements with other verification bodies to extend the reach of its verification system.

Union announces membership of Serdex, a division of Bayer Santé Familiale.    

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The Union for Ethical BioTrade has appointed Pierre Hauselmann as its Technical Director. Pierre is one of the architects of the Union for Ethical BioTrade. He has more than 15 years experience with issues related to standard-setting, certification and labelling, institutional development and the use of trade mechanisms for promoting social and environmental objectives. He was among the founding members of the Forest Stewardship Council and has served as technical and policy advisor to many leading institutions and certification and labelling schemes.  Pierre's principle task is to roll-out the Union's systems on verification and impact assessment, and forge cooperation with existing certification and labelling schemes. Pierre is working with the Union for 4 days a week (80%).

The 9th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Germany, May 2008) calls for incentives to promote biotrade.

The CBD published the decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its 9th Meeting (advance version) on 30 June 2008.

During the 9th meeting of the CBD a series of decisions were adopted by the parties (191 countries are party to the CBD). Reference is made to biotrade in the decisions on incentive measures and promoting business engagement.

The decision on Incentive Measures (IX/6) invites relevant national, regional and international organizations to promote scientific and technical cooperation among Parties on the design and implementation of incentive measures, including through international courses and workshops for the exchange of experiences, and to provide technical support, capacity-building and training for among others: (c) the promotion of biodiversity-based products which are produced in a sustainable manner ("biotrade") See IX/6 §16.

Decision IX/26 on promoting business engagement identifies as one of the priority actions for 2008-2010 the dissemination of tools and best practices of companies involved in biotrade. See IX/26 Annex.

The Parties also invited the Biotrade Initiative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to continue its work on trade promotion for biodiversity-based products which are produced in a sustainable manner and compatible with the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, through capacity-building, enhancing market access, promoting enabling environments and engaging relevant public and private actors.

The Union for Ethical BioTrade come forth out of UNCTAD BioTrade Initiative.

 
Volume 18.1 (2008) of the International Journal Forests, Trees and Livelihoods published a special number on certification and non-timber forest products. PhytoTrade Africa was invited to contribute to this number and explains how the Union for Ethical BioTrade can bridge the gap between industry’s certification expectations and small-scale producers’ certification capacity. PhytoTrade is one of the founding members of the Union for Ethical BioTrade. Read the whole article that was published in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods.

On 1 June 2008, the Union for Ethical BioTrade granted membership status to three Affiliate Members. All three come from Latin America (Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia) and are supporting producers and small and medium sized enterprises in these countries to implement better social and biodiversity practices. They strengthen the network of organisations that can support the Trading Members of the Union for Ethical BioTrade.

The Union for Ethical BioTrade is looking for an office administrator. Interested? Apply before 15 July 2008.

Cosmetic industry and international development agencies join forces for an ethical and sustainable trade in native natural ingredients. Six months after its creation, the Union for Ethical BioTrade presents at the ninth Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biodiversity its work on a verification process for the ethical and sustainable trade in native natural ingredients.

«Press Release»

During the twelfth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held in Accra, Ghana from 20 to 25 April 2008, UNCTAD launched the second phase of BioTrade Facilitation Programme.

The Programme works with governments, companies, civil society and small-scale producers. It aims to promote trade while at the same time conserving the biodiversity of developing countries. The Union is a partner in the BioTrade Facilitation Programme.

Gus Le Breton and Rodolfo Guttilla respond to questions on establishment of the Union for Ethical BioTrade in the CBD business newsletter.

Click here to download the interview as a pdf (261k).

Click here to view the whole newsletter (Volume 3, Issue 3, April 2008).

The Union for Ethical BioTrade has appointed Rik Kutsch Lojenga, as its Executive Director this month. Gus Le Breton, President of the Union said “Rik is perfectly placed to take on such a position.  With his training as a business economist and nearly eleven years experience with enterprise development, trade and biodiversity with UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) he’s going to be a real asset in furthering how the business world tackles biodiversity issues.  We are delighted to have him on board”.  Working closely with the Board of Ethical BioTrade,  Rik will establish the Union’s offices in Geneva and roll out the Union’s core services. Rik has been tasked to build-up the Union's membership base and reach out to private sector in both developing and developed countries.

The demand for ethical and environmentally sustainable cosmetics has come a step closer to being met with the establishment of a new membership-based organization called the Union for Ethical BioTrade. The Union, launched at the Beyond Beauty Paris show on 1st October, is the flagship association for the Ethical BioTrade movement, a movement promoting sustainable and ethical trade in biodiversity-derived products from around the globe. «Press Release»