Papers presented: Nexus between public and private food standards: main issues and perspectives; Objectives and challenges of the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards – the emerging Intergovernmental Forum of Dialogue on Voluntary Sustainability Standards, a joint initiative of FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP and UNIDO; Lessons from the past and the emergence of international guidelines on sustainability of assessment of food and agriculture systems; Common metrics of sustainable food systems: issues and current developments in the livestock sector, with reference to the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) partnership; Lessons learned from field projects on voluntary standards: synthesis of results; Stories behind quality labels around the Mediterranean countries; Voluntary standards: impacting smallholders’ market participation; Geographical indication as a tool for sustainable food systems: importance of a territorial approach; FAO’s strategic vision to engage with the private sector; Development and use of FAO guidelines of ecolabelling of fish and aquaculture certification; Survey on (private) voluntary standards in the livestock sector; Sustainable nutrition and consumer communication; PDOs’ role in reassuring consumers: the “Parmigiano Reggiano; Signs to choose: voluntary standards and ecolabels as information tools for consumers; Role of voluntary sustainability standards in South–South food commodity supply chains: the case of the sustainable rice platform; Ongoing experiences in Costa Rica: the Ecological Blue Flag Program; Voluntary standards for sustainable food systems: the role of public procurement; and Roles of public actors in the voluntary standards.