This project aims to enhance transparency and traceability in global value chains as a foundation for sustainable and circular production and consumption. It builds on previous EU-supported work (2019–2024) that developed and piloted traceability standards, data-sharing tools, and multi-stakeholder cooperation mechanisms in the garment and footwear sector.

The project responds to the increasing need for robust traceability systems driven by evolving EU legislative frameworks, including due diligence obligations, sustainable product policies, and the introduction of digital product passports. It expands the scope and impact of earlier achievements by strengthening existing solutions in the textile and footwear sector while extending them to additional priority value chains, notably beef and bovine hides, and critical energy transition minerals (CETM).

At its core, the project seeks to enable stakeholders to collect, verify, and exchange trusted and interoperable data across value chains, supporting compliance with sustainability requirements, improving accountability, and facilitating the transition to circular business models. UNECE leads the development of standards, policy dialogue, and capacity-building activities, while cooperating with ITC to ensure complementarity and interoperability with existing tools and platforms.

This project is funded by the EU Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA). 

The project is currently being implemented through three interrelated outputs

Multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and policy recommendations: Multi-stakeholder engagement is anchored in the UNECE Team of Specialists (ToS) on ESG Traceability of Sustainable Value Chains, operating under the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT). The ToS provides a neutral global platform bringing together policymakers, industry, experts, and civil society to exchange practices, identify challenges, and align on traceability priorities. It enables participants to compare approaches, identify systemic challenges, share insights and lessons derived from implementation and jointly explore pathways for interoperability across tools, sectors and jurisdictions. This is reinforced through the UNECE Stakeholder Forum for Data Interoperability, established under the ToS, which addresses fragmentation in sustainability and traceability data by promoting interoperable approaches, aligning data requirements, and supporting collaboration across initiatives. This project has also contributed to UNECE Recommendation No. 49 on Transparency at Scale - Fostering Sustainable Value Chains, establishing a common reference framework to guide policy alignment and advance interoperable and trusted traceability systems across sectors and jurisdictions. 

Traceability standard development in targeted sectors: Building on earlier UNECE work, the project supports the continued development of technical frameworks for transparent and interoperable value chains, notably the United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP). Developed in the context of UNECE Recommendation No. 49 on “Transparency at Scale,” which provides the overarching policy framework, the UNTP serves as the technical protocol enabling interoperable and trusted data exchange across systems and jurisdictions. Sector specific adaptations of the UNTP cover garment and footwear, as well as beef and bovine hides and critical energy transition minerals (CETM).

Training, outreach and awareness-raising: Targeted training and outreach activities facilitate stakeholder efforts towards developing and implementing interoperable approaches to traceability and sustainability data across value chains. Pilot activities are being implemented to support the practical deployment of the UNTP in real-world contexts. These efforts are carried forward through continued stakeholder engagement within the Stakeholder Forum for Textiles Data Interoperability, including a series of dedicated Working Groups. These combine both alignment and deployment tracks: alignment activities support convergence on approaches, metrics and data requirements for value chain traceability, while deployment activities follow a structured, use-case-driven approach to pilot key technical elements of the UNTP in practice. Stakeholders interested in participating in one or more of these groups are invited to submit a participation request through the registration form available here. 

The project contributes directly to EU priorities on the transition to a sustainable and circular economy, the implementation of corporate sustainability due diligence, and the strengthening of responsible global value chains. By reinforcing traceability systems, the project supports stakeholders in meeting emerging regulatory requirements, including those related to sustainability reporting and trust, due diligence, and product transparency.

UNECE’s standards-based approach provides a globally recognised framework for interoperable and trusted data exchange, which is essential for enabling digital product passports and substantiating credible sustainability claims. The project also addresses key environmental and social challenges, such as deforestation, resource use, and labour risks, particularly in sectors with complex and fragmented supply chains.

By improving access to reliable and verifiable data, the project reduces compliance complexity, supports companies in adapting to new requirements, and promotes more efficient and transparent supply chain management. Cooperation with complementary initiatives enhances the scalability and practical implementation of the project’s outputs.