Vienna, 11 September 2025 – Global supply chains, the backbone of international trade and industrial development, face mounting challenges from health crises, geopolitical tensions, rising trade costs, and sustainability-driven regulations. Building resilience and fairness in these systems is critical to ensuring that producers, particularly in developing countries, can benefit from global markets while contributing to sustainable development.
In response to these challenges, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) convened the second session of its Development Dialogue, focusing on strengthening global supply chains to be more productive, resilient, and sustainable.
The event brought together policymakers, Permanent Missions, and international partners to advance the FairShare Global Program, UNIDO’s flagship initiative supporting inclusive and sustainable trade systems. Discussions centered on how to ensure small producers, especially in developing countries, can benefit from global markets while meeting rising regulatory and sustainability demands.
FairShare is built on four pillars: country-level support, tools for compliance and competitiveness, policy and standards assistance, and international dialogue. Ongoing projects include work on circular economy models in Zambia, cocoa supply chains in Ecuador, and vocational training in Tunisia.
UNIDO Managing Director Gunther Beger stressed the importance of fairness in sustainability efforts. “Sustainable supply chains are not only about compliance. They are about fairness, resilience, and shared prosperity,” he said.
Elena María Freije Murillo, Permanent Representative of Honduras, voiced support for the initiative, highlighting the importance of integrating smallholders and MSMEs into global value chains.
The Dialogue builds on UNIDO’s 2023 resolution (GC.20/Res.2), co-sponsored by Bangladesh and Finland, which called for inclusive dialogue, technology transfer, and support for small enterprises, women, and youth.
Participants emphasized the need for cross-sector collaboration, investment in skills, and digital tools to help supply chains adapt to shifting market and regulatory conditions. FairShare was recognized as a platform to connect global companies, national institutions, and local producers.
Looking ahead, UNIDO plans to scale up the program in 2026, with the upcoming General Conference in November 2025 expected to mark its official launch.
Closing the event, Virpi Stucki, Chief of UNIDO’s Division of Fair Production, said, “FairShare is more than a framework — it is an invitation to join forces to ensure that fair and sustainable supply chains become the norm, not the exception.”
In closing remarks, Virpi Stucki, Chief of UNIDO’s Division of Fair Production, Sustainability Standards and Trade, outlined the roadmap: “2024 was about laying the foundation, 2025 is about designing for delivery, and 2026 will be the year for scaling up.” She added that FairShare is “an invitation to join forces to ensure that fair and sustainable supply chains become the norm, not the exception.”
With growing global challenges and rising sustainability demands, the Dialogue reinforced the urgency, and possibility, of transforming supply chains into engines of equitable and sustainable industrial development.
For further information, please contact:
Division for Fair Production, Sustainability Standards & Trade
