The Innovations Fund supports a diverse range of projects that explore and test how sustainability systems can improve their impact and effectiveness to address specific sustainability challenges. Below you can explore our current portfolio of projects across different thematic areas, awarded grants under our past funding opportunities.
Innovations Fund project portfolio (from 2023)
This project evaluates the main drivers and challenges that factories in the MarinTrust Improver Programme face in boosting their environmental performance.
Marin Trust
This project provides a better understanding of the current landscape, opportunities and challenges faced by the artisanal and small-scale copper mining sector in Peru.
The Copper Mark
This project assesses human rights risks and impacts in the botanicals sector to develop scheme-level improvements in Turkey.
UEBT
This project explores approaches for greenhouse gas data collection, accounting and reporting in agricultural commodity production and how these can be applied inclusively.
Better Cotton
This project develops an innovative process combining satellite data, modern artificial intelligence and drone technologies to improve assurance monitoring at scale.
Assurance Services International (ASI)
This project explores a risk-based approach and new data sources to improve the detection of forced labour in ready-made garment supply chains in Bangladesh.
GoodWeave
This project combines Geographic Information System (GIS) data and local stakeholder perspectives to give a better understanding of the condition of a particular landscape to support deforestation-free and climate-friendly supply chains.
Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN)
This project consolidates the evidence base on insetting practices for achieving significant greenhouse gas emission reductions for other sustainability systems to learn from.
Climate Neutral Group
This project develops and pilots training modules for workers and managers engaging with agricultural sustainability systems. These training modules cover critical human rights risks in line with the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains.
Rainforest Alliance
This project explores ways to enable ISEAL members to align with new financial disclosure regulations to enhance sustainability in investments and foster transparency and credibility.
Global Infrastructure Basel
This project develops best practices and pilots new procedures for building in the traceability of climate risk and greenhouse gas emissions data across complex commodity value chains.
Forest Stewardship Council
This project prototypes and pilots an approach to strengthen the facilitation and engagement of direct, meaningful dialogue between brands or retailers with rightsholder groups on key human rights risks.
Fairtrade International
This project explores ways to improve the remediation options offered to adolescent workers (under the age of 18 years) by piloting innovative approaches in textile assembly supply chains and assessing their replicability in other sustainability systems.
GoodWeave
This project develops an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance reporting dashboard to provide the sustainability metrics that the finance sector needs to verify and credibly demonstrate the impact of their seafood portfolios.
Aquaculture Stewardship Council
This project will establish an alliance of organizations to collectively work together on producing credible, high-quality risk data covering diverse commodities, sectors, and geographies in a Risk Information Alliance.
Sustainable Biomass Program
This project tests novel assessment and verification approaches and data platforms to support local companies, farmers and wild collectors to respond to emerging due diligence requirement in 9 focus countries.
UEBT
This project is designed to support independent smallholder inclusion in sustainable palm oil supply chains. The factors 'interrupting' a fully traceable sustainable palm oil supply chain, from initial production by smallholders to downstream buyers, will be explored. Guidance and recommendations will be developed for different actors in the supply chain, with the ambition to eliminate bottlenecks and strengthen relationships between these actors essential for any effective, fair, and impactful due diligence process.
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
This project supports the development of a book and claim registry ecosystem to enable interoperability between the independent registry operators joining RSB's book and claim efforts.
Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB)
This project focuses on developing and launching a new ‘Low-Carbon’ module for the Sustainable Rice Platform's Assurance Scheme to decarbonize their value chains.
Sustainable Rice Platform
This project develops a clear roadmap for decarbonizing the copper sector.
The Copper Mark
This project consolidates Bonsucro’s climate action roadmap and develops tools and processes to drive climate action among sugarcane and cotton producers.
Bonsucro
This project promotes the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices by soy producers.
Round Table on Responsible Soy Association
This project will be a first for the industry by exploring unique insights into the climate impacts of the jewellery and watch sectors.
Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC)
This project aims to enhance the detection and management of human rights risks within the coffee supply chain by improving social auditing practices.
4C Services GmbH
This project will collaboratively explore worker engagement systems in the seafood sector, with the aim to promote worker's voices and uphold their rights.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
This project aims to build the capacity of Indigenous People and Local Communities to contribute effectively to mine closure practices and outcomes.
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative
This project will improve standard-setting and auditing tools to better ensure that they are rights-based.
Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance
This project aims to empower local communities affected by aquaculture operations to protect their rights and interests, by developing practical tools for environmental monitoring by communities.
Aquaculture Stewardship Council
This project aims to improve wage transparency in cotton production to benefit farm workers.
Better Cotton
This project will explore the social impacts of the steel and mining industries’ transition to net-zero carbon emissions and the role of voluntary systems in making that transition socially responsible.
Responsible Steel
