Intergovernmental Mandate & Strategic Role of Sustainable Production and Trade Network for the SDGs Association (STNSM)
Sustainism Initiatives (STNSM) is instituted under the Agricultural and Food Marketing Association for Asia and the Pacific (AFMA)—an intergovernmental organization founded by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). As a collaborative mechanism advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Asia–Pacific region, STNSM strengthens trade, finance, procurement, and innovation partnerships to accelerate region-wide sustainable transformation.
Strategic Institutional Mandate
AFMA has formally designated Sustainism as its Strategic Partner, entrusting the organization with a central role in advancing regional climate and sustainability cooperation. To reinforce this institutional mandate, AFMA has appointed the Director of Sustainism to serve concurrently as Director, Climate and Sustainability (AFMA)—positioning Sustainism at the heart of AFMA’s intergovernmental programmes, policy execution, and coordination across member states.
In addition, Sustainism operates as AFMA’s SDG Custodian Support Mechanism, providing analytical, technical, and governance support to strengthen SDG implementation, monitoring, and alignment with UN frameworks across AFMA’s mandate areas.
Secretariat Functions at CSCAP
Sustainism serves as the Secretariat for both the Climate & Sustainability Capital Forum (CSCAP) convened at the United Nations, providing integrated leadership across technical coordination, policy harmonization, and knowledge governance. In this capacity, Sustainism also oversees the Secretariat functions for all cooperative instruments, agreements, and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) arising from these two platforms, ensuring that all outcomes remain institutionally coherent, evidence-based, and aligned with internationally recognized standards and multilateral mechanisms.
Private-Sector Transformation Mandate
STNSM is committed to equipping the private sector with the capability to internalize, operationalize, and disclose sustainability performance in accordance with the SDGs—anchoring sustainable transformation as a core principle of corporate governance and long-term competitiveness.
Bridge Between UN Institutional Mechanisms and the Private Sector
Through its strategic partnership with AFMA, Sustainism functions as an institutional bridge, linking private-sector leadership with United Nations–aligned policy frameworks. This strengthens coherence between sustainable business practices and global development objectives, ensuring that the private sector contributes meaningfully to shared regional and multilateral goals.
Regional Platforms for Systemic Transformation
This collaboration is advanced through the Climate & Sustainability Capital Forum (CSCAP) and the Climate Action Forum (CAF), both convened at the United Nations. These platforms elevate regional cooperation in sustainable trade, finance, procurement, and climate action. CAF is currently being elevated as a flagship intergovernmental–private sector mechanism, supporting integrated economic transition and climate-aligned development across the Asia–Pacific region.
The AFMA document affirms that AFMA provides formal support and endorsement to the Sustainism Initiative (stnsm.org).
The Agricultural and Food Marketing Association for Asia and the Pacific (AFMA Asia), an intergovernmental organization in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO), underscores the critical role of the private sector in advancing and accelerating the efficient attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). AFMA Asia emphasizes the imperative to strengthen know/edge, foster comprehensive understanding, and institutionalize collaborative frameworks to propel sustainable development efforts.
In pursuit of this mandate, AFMA Asia has strategically facilitated collaboration in the domains of sustainability knowledge and sustainable finance to bolster the Sustainism Initiative–a multisectoral collaborative platform designed to unite stakeholders across industries, governments, and civil society in advancing sustainable development. Sustainism serves as a conduit for knowledge-sharing and aims to heighten global awareness of the urgency and significance of integrated sustainability practices.
The Sustainism Initiative is dedicated to functioning as a pivotal instrument for partner organizations, enabling the effective and timely achievment of the UN SDGs through structured engagement with expert networks specializing in diverse facets of sustainable development, including environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic resilience.
For additional details regarding the Sustainism Initiative and its contributions to advancing sustainable and responsible business practices, kindly direct inquiries to the Director of the Sustainism Initiative.
At the heart of Sustainism’s mission lies SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, reaffirming the principle that no nation, organization, or community can achieve sustainability alone.
Through inclusive partnerships among governments, businesses, academia, and civil society, Sustainism Initiatives (STNSM) translates the global sustainability agenda into tangible and measurable economic action across the Asia-Pacific region.
STNSM focuses on three core missions that are fully aligned with United Nations principles and globally recognized sustainability frameworks, serving as a driving mechanism for transformative action across the Asia–Pacific region.
Scope of the SDG Custodian Support Mechanism
Purpose
The SDG Custodian Support Mechanism serves as a support function that enables organizations—especially private sector actors and supply chains—to align, structure, and disclose sustainability actions and results in ways that are SDG-linked, evidence-based, and decision-useful for procurement, finance, and investment.
6 Pillars (Integrated with Announcement, Recognition, Publication)
A) SDG Alignment & Indicator Mapping
- Translate projects, products, and services into relevant SDG Goals, Targets, and UNSD-aligned Indicators to ensure traceability and comparability.
- Establish a clear results logic from activities → outputs/outcomes → measurable indicators, forming the technical basis for declarations, recognition, and reporting.
B) Announcement: Voluntary Declarations, Disclosure & Evidence Packaging
- Facilitate voluntary sustainability declarations under the SDG Custodian Support Mechanism, enabling organizations to align policies, goals, and reporting structures with UNSD methodologies and internationally recognized frameworks (e.g., GRI, ISSB, TNFD, SBTi).
- Produce standardized Disclosure Packs (table of contents, KPIs, evidence, calculation notes) that function as a formal Statement of Commitment—transparent, measurable, and comparable.
- Build an Evidence Chain linking action → proof → metrics → economic relevance, ensuring commitments are decision-useful for governance and market use.
C) Data Readiness & Interoperability
- Provide templates to ensure sustainability data can be shared, validated, and used by buyers, banks, ESG evaluators, and reporting systems.
- Define minimum data definitions and metadata (time period, boundaries, units, source, methodology) to support UNSD indicator consistency and national/regional accountability.
D) Capacity Building & Technical Assistance
- Deliver training and coaching on measurement readiness, basic MRV practices, and auditable KPIs that meet international expectations.
- Provide practical tools to reduce SDG-washing/greenwashing risks through checklists, red flags, and readiness guidance for declaration, recognition, and publication.
E) Integrity, Governance & Grievance
- Establish governance rules: transparency requirements, conflict-of-interest controls, and code of conduct to protect credibility across all outputs.
- Operate processes to receive concerns, correct information, and manage review, suspension, or withdrawal procedures (where applicable), safeguarding the integrity of declarations, recognitions, and publications.
F) Recognition, Partnership Recognition & Market Linkage (Value Realization)
- Conduct independent evaluations and formal recognitions for private-sector organizations seeking recognition as Sustainable Suppliers / Sustainable Buyers under the CSCAP–SSA Framework, implemented in collaboration with AFMA, MASCI, and accredited sustainability experts to align with internationally accepted ESG/SDG standards.
- Provide Institutional Partnership Recognition for government agencies, public institutions, and civil society organizations entering structured cooperation under CSCAP often serving as the formal basis for MoUs and higher-level cooperation agreements.
- Convert disclosures into procurement- and finance-ready narratives, including buyer readiness and finance readiness summaries—framing measurable value such as revenue opportunities, cost reductions, and risk mitigation.
If your organization is committed to advancing sustainability and participating in the emerging green economy, you are warmly invited to engage with Sustainism Initiatives (STNSM) for technical guidance and collaborative opportunities under this partnership framework.
AFMA Official Endorsement for Sustainism Initiative (STNSM)
This document confirms the formal endorsement issued by the Agricultural & Food Marketing Association for Asia and the Pacific (AFMA), recognizing STNSM as a designated SDGs Custodian Support Mechanism within the Asia-Pacific region.
Director: Mr. Pej Prapakittikun
Contact at Sustainism Secretariat
Sustainism Initiatives
Ms. Kaninchita Wonganawat
Assistant Director of the Secretariat
+66 8298 96869
secretariat@stnsm.org
For coordination and project implementation in Thailand, please contact:
Pornpot Chaovirakij : +66 97 034 4225
Nichakorn Veerakul : +66 97 034 3220
