Presentation of the Baseline Report "Biodiversity in Standards and Labels for the Food Sector"

As part of the LIFE BioStandards project, the Baseline Report "Biodiversity in Standards and Labels for the Food Sector" will be presented on June 6 at 2:30 PM, at the Alimentaria Horexpo Food Fair (Auditorium II - Pav. 2), at FIL (Parque das Nações, Lisbon).

The report illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of standards and labels in the agri-food sector on a number of drivers of loss of biodiversity, and points to ways to improve the performance of this sector. Examples of good criteria on various standards and labels will also be presented.

54 European, national and regional standards and labels were analyzed by the project partners. The analysis addressed not only the policies of the standards/labels but also the criteria contained in their specifications, which the producers and associated suppliers have to comply with. These criteria were analyzed in terms of effectiveness for biodiversity conservation, mandatory or optional character, transparency and auditability.

The report (available here) presents the results on each driver of loss of biodiversity and conclusions that indicate the need (and potential) for improving the biodiversity performance of standards and labels at the European level.