Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the Indonesian Agri-food Export Sector

This project aims at setting the scene for joint and interdisciplinary research on the sustainability implications of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in food export sectors in Indonesia. The project is a cooperation between KU Leuven and Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in Indonesia, and brings together expertise in economic and natural sciences. The project aims at setting the scene through constructing and maintaining district-level and GIS databases; developing an interdisciplinary research plan on the sustainability implications of VSS; executing first descriptive analyses on the socio-economic and land-use implications of VSS; building a stakeholder network and developing a strategy to influence the adoption and impact of VSS. The project is expected to results in ready-to-use databases; preliminary insights on the sustainability implications of VSS; two PhD scholarship applications; one joint research project application; and an effective valorisation strategy.