About the tool V2.0

At the Global Benchmark Tool launch in October 2015, it was agreed that the Tool would be reviewed every three years. Planning for the review began in October 2018, with the process kick-started in January 2019. The launch of version 2.0 is set for October 2021!

The review process will update and simplify the Global Benchmark Tool while maintaining the benchmark rigor and the Tool’s alignment with the FAO guidelines. The review will be focused on the following three areas:

Improvement of benchmark component language

Reduction of the number of components to reduce complexity while maintaining the benchmark standard

Inclusion of new FAO guidelines as supplementary components

Expert Working Groups

The Steering Board has installed three different Expert Working Groups (EWG) to develop version 2.0 of the Global Benchmark Framework: Governance & Scheme Management EWG, Aquaculture EWG and Fisheries EWG.

Learn more about GSSI Expert Working Groups

To learn more about the Global Benchmark Tool V2.0 contact Eva van Heukelom.

Timeline for the Revision

January 2019

Schemes, Independent Experts and Benchmark Committee Members provide feedback on v1.0 of the Tool and the Tool Process.

May 2019

Expert Working Group ‘kick-off’ session in Amsterdam.

May 2019

30-day public consultation on v1.0 of the Tool.

September 2019

Virtual Expert Working Group meetings to review the first draft of the Global Benchmark Framework v2.0.

February 2020

Expert Working Groups finalize first draft of the Global Benchmark Framework v2.0 for Public Consultation.

March 2020

GSSI Steering Board approves first draft of the Global Benchmark Framework v2.0 for Public Consultation.

April 2020-May 2020

60-day public consultation.

June 2020

Integration of Public Consultation comments in Global Benchmark Framework v2.0 by Expert Working Groups.

September 2020

Expert Working Group meetings to finalise Global Benchmark Framework v2.0.

September 2021

GSSI Steering Board approves Global Benchmark Tool v2.0 for launch.

October 2021

Launch of the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool v2.0.

Vice President Product Integrity, Ahold Delhaize

Hugo Byrnes joined Ahold in 2006 and was subsequently appointed to the position of Vice President Product Integrity. He is responsible for Ahold Delhaize’s food and non-food product policies, which cover product safety and responsible products. This includes social compliance, animal welfare and environmental issues. Hugo Byrnes has a Dutch Law degree from the State University Leiden, the Netherlands. He is a food lawyer whose career has focused on the food business and in particular on quality management and standardization.

Director of Partnerships, Aqua-Spark

Flavio has spent more than two decades working in responsible aquaculture globally for non-profit, intergovernmental, and for-profit organizations. As Aqua-Spark’s Director of Partnerships, he is responsible for driving the development and execution of a robust partner ecosystem that aligns all stakeholders behind a core vision, while supporting Aqua-Spark’s portfolio, network, and goals. Prior to joining Aqua-Spark, Flavio worked for IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, overseeing their Aquaculture Program. He was also IDH Vietnam Country Director, establishing groundbreaking public-private partnerships in coffee, tea, and apparel. He founded and ran the sustainability arm of the Vietnam association of farmers and fishers (VINAFIS). He has worked as an expert for over 20 international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Flavio holds an M.Sc. in Aquaculture from the University of Stirling and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology, the study of diseases in populations, from the University of Liverpool.

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