Sustainability

Historically, long before the civil society started to question companies and brands concerning their impact on the environment and the social welfare of their employees and communities, GIs products have been sensitive to issues such as gender equality, decent work, climate and environmental degradation. First of all, with respect to environmental issues, such products cannot switch production elsewhere, as “delocalisation” is not compatible with the scheme itself. Resources and natural capital in a given geographical area must be conserved for GIs to continue to exist and thrive in the long term. This is why several quality products deeply rooted in a given geographical, while adapting to consumer tastes, have been in existence for centuries. Moreover, from a social and economic perspective, GIs products are an integral part of their communities. Their ability to generate and fairly distribute value for all relevant stakeholders along the chain is a key factor in their success. This is achieved through a “local value chain governance” which allows relevant stakeholders to be represented within structures such as “consejo reguladores”, “associations interprofessionnelles”, “consorzi”, etc. In this respect, local stakeholders are in a privileged position to develop alliances in their respective territories, creating the appropriate environment for collaboration between economic actors, regulators and local authorities. For all these reasons, quality products deeply rooted in a given geographical area, which have obtained GI recognition or are working towards it, are in a strategic position to respond to the sustainability challenges of our time, and even represent a model for other economic sectors embarking on such a process. This does not mean that they are sustainable by definition. But the fact that value chains coordinate in their territories to preserve and promote local resources is poised to generate sustainability pathways.

• 27/07/2023-Guest contribution: The AFD has recently published the evaluation: “FIFTEEN YEARS OF AFD SUPPORT FOR GEOGRAPHIC INDICATIONS. WHAT CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?” by GRET (Damien Lagandré, Aurélie Carimentrand, Barbara Pick, Mariagiulia Mariani)
• 16/06/2023-Press Release: 2023 WIPO Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications: As GIs are becoming a matter of public interest, for their potential in terms of local sustainable development and capacity to respond to some of the emerging consumers’ societal demands, rebranding strategies – leveraging from the local specificities of products – represent an opportunity for concerned stakeholders.
• 02/06/2023-GIs celebrating World Bee Day, International Tea Day, and Biodiversity Day
• 10/05/2023-Guest contribution: The FAO launched two new publications towards sustainable GIs: a policy brief and guidelines for GI examiners, by Emilie Vandecandelaere, Agribusiness Economist, FAO
• 30/04/2023-Scotch Whisky Sees IP, Diversity and Inclusion as Keys To its Longer-term Sustainability
• 26/04/2023-Happy World Intellectual Property Day !
• 27/04/2023-Videos featuring oriGIn members published by WIPO at the occasion of the 2023 World Intellectual property Day
• 08/03/2023-oriGIn celebrates the International Women Day 2023
• 15/02/2023-Towards a more sustainable development model to reduce impact on the environment
• 05/12/2022-On 5 December in Geneva, at the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO), oriGIn presented the results of the 2022 “GI Trends” Panel
• 04/10/2022- Guest Contribution: A new study on the state of play of sustainability practices in wine appellations in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, by Daniela Ida ZANDONÀ, European Federation of Origin Wines (EFOW)
• 21/09/2022- The FAO-oriGIn support to GI organizations to respond to the emerging sustainability challenges through a participatory approach
• 28/06/2022-Online event “The Environmental decision support system (EDSS): A new tool to support sustainable and efficient PDO/PGI supply chains in Europe, developed by the LIFE TTGG project”
• 08/06/2022-Online event “Dairies PDO and Environment: methods, tools and approaches”
• 28/04/2022- oriGIn Press release: oriGIn promotes a debate on adequate instruments for American farmers to protect the authenticity of their products and sound strategies for the sustainable development of rural communities in a post-covid scenario
• 09/11/2021-How GIs can approach some of the issues currently discussed at the COP26
• 09/11/2021-Members’Voice: Raising a glass to Sustainable Scotch, by Rosie Willmot, SWA Communications Officer
• 26/10/2021-Members’ Voice: Improving the environmental performance of PDO cheeses is possible!!! The strategy of the PDO Grana Padano, by Consorzio di tutela del formaggio Grana Padano DOP & LIFE TTGG Project
• 14/10/2021- Members’ Voice: The PDO Comté recognised in a study commissioned by WWF and Greenpeace for its efforts in favour of the environment, from the press release published on 30 September by the association in charge of the PDO Comté
• 14/10/2021 – Guest contribution: Wine industry and key stakeholders join forces to define sustainability, from the press release published on 15 September by Sustainable Wine Roundtable
• 30/09/2021-A Framework to assess and monitor the contribution of GIs to sustainability through a participatory process within value chains
• 06/09/2021 – oriGIn is a global reference for crucial topic concerning GIs
• 25/06/2021 – Press Release: Future Common Agricultural Policy: European Geographical Indications producers welcome the agreement found by the EU Institutions
• 22/06/2021 – Online event on “Solid groups, controls and fully understanding sustainability issues: challenges for GIs in Latin America”
• 03/06/2021 – Online event on “Sustainability, fight against counterfeiting, opportunities in research and legal carriers: GIs for young generations and students”
• 27/05/2021 – Independent Dialogue on GIs in the context of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021
• 26/04/2021 – Press Release: The global alliance of Geographical Indications (GIs) celebrates the 2021 World Intellectual Property Day
• 20/04/2021 – Online meeting on “Origin spirits and sustainability”
• 08/03/2021 – oriGIn is proud and grateful to all the women working on GIs value chains and associations around the world, contributing to their success #IWD2021 #WomenWeek
• 21/12/2020 – oriGIn-FAO partnership to help GIs contribute to a more sustainable future
• 27/11/2020 – Joint Press release: EU GIs welcome the European Commission’s initiatives to strengthen the EU Geographical Indication system
• 24/11/2020 – FAO-oriGIn series of webinars on “Contributing to SDGs through quality linked to geographical origin”
• 20/05/2020 – Press Release: European GIs producers welcome the publication of the Farm to Fork and biodiversity strategies
• 26/04/2020 – Press Release : GIs celebrate the 2020 World IP Day on efforts to create a green future
• 22/04/2020 – World IP Day, Sustainability: IP rights at the heart of efforts to create a green future
• 17/03/2020 – Message from our President and Director on the global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
• 09/03/2020 – European Green Deal – Sustainability: Challenges and opportunities for GIs in the framework of the EU “Farm to Fork” Strategy
• 23/09/2019 – Press Release: Sustainability and cooperation among groups at the top of the agenda of the Geographical Indications global alliance
• 16/05/2019 – Press Release: Sustainability, enhanced protection and further simplification: One week ahead of the European Parliament elections, oriGIn EU publishes its priorities for geographical indications in the 2019-2024 legislature
• 13/05/2019 – The Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC) selected for the Inter-American Dialogue Distinguished Leadership Award for Social Equity
• 18/02/2019 – Sustainability: Improving the efficiency of production chains in the cheese sector through a dedicated software
• 23/01/2019 – Implementation of the oriGIn/FAO GIs & sustainability strategy: café Marcala pilot case
• 19/10/2018 – Geographical Indications and sustainability: challenges ahead for the agricultural sector (The European IPR Helpdesk N°31, October – December 2018)
• 20/06/2018 – Federación Nacional Cafeteros de Colombia receives Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setters Award
• 24/05/2018 – The FAO published a study on “Strengthening sustainable food systems through GIs”
• 09/05/2018 – oriGIn is working on PDO cheeses and environmental sustainability
• 22/02/2018 – oriGIn “GIs & sustainability strategy” implemented with the support of FAO
• 30/11-01/12/2017 – oriGIn @ INTA 2017 Brand Authenticity conference, Berlin
• 17/10/2017 – oriGIn sustainability strategy for GIs
• 11/10/2017 – oriGIn at G7 GI Conference & the “Bergamo Declaration”, Bergamo
• 20/05/2017 – oriGIn at the International Conference on Environment, Rome
• 04/05/2017 – oriGIn/FAO workshop on GIs and Sustainability, Geneva