ITC publications bring the business voice to sustainable trade, with a focus on developing countries. We offer guidance for trade policymakers, business support organizations and small firms. Our reports offer insights to make trade more inclusive, green, digital and competitive.
International business investors can embed sustainability in each step of their operations. This guide describes the social, environmental and economic practices that international firms must understand when entering a new market.
The design of governance structure of social and environmental sustainability standards determines how accessible they are to producers in developing countries.The increase in consumer demand for sustainable trade has given rise to a growing array of social and environmental standards. This joint...
The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2021 analyses how small businesses can rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic so they are prepared to face the looming climate crisis. It provides a 20-point Green Recovery Plan to foster competitive, resilient and environmentally sustainable small and medium-sized...
African tech hubs play an important role in building fledgling entrepreneurial ecosystems and helping start-ups, but they struggle to earn revenue and become financially sustainable. This second edition has expanded its coverage, adding insights from East African hubs. The report, based on...
Managing risk and building climate resilience among small firms requires a team effort. Climate change is hitting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) hard, and supply chain disruptions have a domino effect. This guide explains how development cooperation agencies, business support organizations,...
The demand for organic wild collected products is significant. Products for direct food consumption, such as berries, nuts, mushrooms and a large number of herbs are the main items. This publication discusses terminology used in wild collection, gives an overview of organic and other standards that...
Many climate-smart technologies exist in Pakistan to help farmers adapt to climate change. These include commercially available technologies and those developed locally. Various factors hinder their uptake, limiting climate resilience.
This summary provides highlights of how small businesses can rebuild from the pandemic in a way that helps them face climate change – and how governments, business support organizations and lead firms in international value chains can support them through the Green Recovery Plan.
Understanding the global demand for environmental goods and services can unlock new export opportunities for developing country SMEs. This study provides a market overview of this complex sector, which reached an estimated US$ 866 billion in 2011, and is expected to rise to US$ 1.9 trillion by 2020...
Cross-border e-commerce can help least developed countries (LDCs) to become more competitive and diversify their exports – and this is especially true for Asia-Pacific, the most dynamic region in global e-commerce. To capture that potential, small businesses in these countries need more market...
The rhinoceros faces the risk of extinction in the wild if current poaching rates continue. Viet Nam, a main market, uses horn as an ingredient in Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM). An ITC survey of 1000 consumers of TAM, including 239 rhino horn users, found they preferred rhino horn that is...
A blueprint for small and medium-sized enterprises Advanced economies have developed highly competitive and innovative e-commerce services, making it simple for small enterprises to set up online stores, transport their goods and receive payments. Although entrepreneurs in developing countries...
