Business Case

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The Business Case for UNTP implementation

In this section we provide a broad analysis of the key drivers, impacts, costs, and benefits associated with the implementation of the United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP) in an overall digital trade facilitation program.

• Stakeholder motivations summarizes the full range of stakeholder types and their motivations.
• Business case for industry details the business value propositions and costs for UNTP implementation by industry at individual company level and provide a simple business case template.
• Business case for government details the business case for governments at both individual agency and national economy levels.
• Community activation program defines a methodology and business case for industry member associations to engage their membership for collective implementation at the community level.
• Value assessment framework is essentially the UNTP business case for UNECE because it defines the UNTP KPIs that will be measures so that global impact can be tracked.

Stakeholder Motivations

The table below provides an overview of the different stakeholders participating in the trade ecosystem, including their role and, key motivating factors and link to the UNTP benefit statement in the Audience, Benefits & Goals section.

Stakeholder	Motivation
Consumers/Consumer Groups - Purchase and use products.	Consumers want to make informed choices about the products they buy, as well as how/where to extend the use cycle, including responsible disposal. Additional information related to a product’s origins, manufacturing and the best options for circular economy solutions.
Regulators - Enforce compliance with laws and regulations.	Support all companies to comply with regulations, including safety, environmental, human rights and resource recovery. The aim is to increase trusted data, efficiency and visibility into value chains.
Producers and Manufacturers - produce raw materials and manufacture goods.	Overcome difficulties in proving the ethical production and supply of quality raw and recycled materials. Supply efficient data to customers to meet mandatory regulations. Cross-over compliance across multiple certifications to meet brand preferences increases unnecessary compliance costs and adds time and expense.
Brands and Retailers - Market and sell products to consumers	Our customers want to know where our products come from and how they are made, but it's hard to provide that information.
Recyclers and Refurbishers - products at the end of their final use cycle.	Inform customers where products come from, how they are made and where to take them for circular economy solutions. Secure reliable (cross-border) information (compliance evidence) and enhance efficiency. Plan for potential adaptations in expenditure, tax and profit margins, and extended product use-cycle ownership. Adjust consumer communication, including costs, circular pathways.
Industry Member Associations - Represent and advocate for industry interests	Assist members in adapting to emerging regulations and industry practices. Provide consistent guidance plus affordable solutions for efficiency and collaboration, while maintaining proprietary information.
Environment and Human Welfare Organisations - Advocate for environmental protection and human rights.	Strengthen company accountability for their ecological and human rights practices by securing trusted public information.
Standards Organisations - Develop and maintain industry standards.	Assist the industry, government, and consumers in maintaining standards that are beneficial and accommodate emerging research and community expectations. Offer a reliance on standards, along with mutual recognition, to strengthen widespread adoption and affordability.
Accreditation Bodies and Certifiers - Provide certification and accreditation services	Provide trusted third-party verification of standards and ethical compliance to enhance transparency and interoperability across value chains
Transport and Logistics Providers - Manage the movement of goods.	Increase the use of technologies (trusted data, AI) to offer customers the best-case solutions, along with adaptable options that increase choices related to time, reportable environmental impact, and costs. Track shipments accurately to enhance timely deliveries and collaborative data collection.
Financial Institutions - Provide financial services and investments.	Increase risk assessment for our investments and enhance industry support for value chain operators by securing clear information on companies' value chains.
Software Developers - Develop software solutions to support transparency.	Create solutions that meet evolving market needs, including extended product lifecycles and increased expenditures and returns.De-stress customers with staged roll-outs that anticipate value chain transparency and adapt to cross-border regulatory compliance.
Consultants & Advisors - Offer various advice services to businesses.	Assist clients in implementing UNTP and traceability systems, and complying with new circularity regulations, starting with the basic set-up of selecting tools and data architecture that will adapt to emerging policies.
Academics, Researchers & Media - Offer government, industry and media reporting.	Secure transparent data to assist in studies and recommendations for value chain actors. Teach, educate, and report on evidence-based historical, existing, and future breakthroughs, as well as whole-system adjustments, to provide guidance grounded in verifiable metrics.

Business Case for Industry.

In today's global marketplace, commercial incentives drive business action. With regard to sustainable business practices and products, there is a maturity trend in the way businesses think about value.

• Historically sustainability was a marketing exercise that focused primarily on green labeling to promote sales.

• Currently the explosion of stakeholder expectations has led to a similarly dramatic increase in company- and product-level disclosure regulations aimed at counteracting greenwashing and supporting national net-zero commitments.

• For the future organisations are placing sustainability at the front and centre of their business strategy, profitability, and brand value. UNTP provides value chain transparency at scale, enabling brands to be confident in the implementation of their sustainability strategies.

At a high level adopting UNTP offers several key benefits:

• Supply Chain Optimization : Detailed supplier data allows for informed selection of more sustainable and resilient supply options.

• Enhanced Disclosure Accuracy : Access to granular, product-level sustainability data enables precise reporting and provides the key information needed for organisations to select suppliers, ensuring that their year-on-year sustainability disclosures demonstrate a clear improvement trend.

• Reputational Risk Management : Transparency in the supply chain helps mitigate risks associated with unsustainable supplier practices.

• Financial Advantages : The financial sector increasingly rewards strong sustainability credentials with improved terms for trade finance and investment capital.

• Traceability and trackability : Detailed data enable enhanced logistics and product quality management. It also supports circular economy options and, more broadly, end-of-use-cycle management.

For more information and templates, please visit the Business Case for Industry. page.

Business Case for Government.

The implementation of the UNTP is expected to yield significant economic benefits for participating nations. While the precise impact may vary based on a country's existing trade infrastructure, regulatory environment, and level of digitalization, there are several opportunities for improvement.

• Trade cost reduction : Implementation of the UNTP is projected to reduce trade costs through the standardisation and digitization of processes. This includes streamlining customs clearance, documentation, inspections, and other administrative procedures.

• Enhanced Revenue Collection : Improved compliance and reduced fraud, facilitated by the UNTP's transparency measures, may lead to more effective revenue collection from customs duties and taxes.

• Facilitate Trade Policy Development : Receiving granular data and attributes of what gets in and out of the country and being able to aggregate that data can help policy makers in shaping policy in a more targeted way to enhance their countries competitiveness.

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) : Nations adopting the UNTP may become more attractive to foreign investors due to increased efficiency and predictability in trade processes.

• Supply Chain Resilience and Competitiveness : The real-time data and transparency provided by the UNTP can enhance the resilience of supply chains to disruptions and improve overall competitiveness in the global market.

The realisation of these benefits may depend on several factors, including:

• The nation's initial conditions and existing trade barriers
• The extent and effectiveness of UNTP implementation
• Complementary reforms in areas such as infrastructure, governance, and technology

The UNTP is supported by UNECE policy Recommendation 49 - traceability and transparency at scale that defines specific recommendations for member states that wish to reap the economic benefits of increased supply chain traceability, transparency, and trust.

For more information and templates, please visit the Business Case for Government. page.

Community Activation Program.

Supply chain actors are often reluctant to proceed with a specific initiate like UNTP unless they have some confidence that others in their industry are doing the same. There are not only obvious interoperability benefits from industry wide adoption but also cost benefits.

For example, it is often the case that a small number of commercial software platforms are commonly used by larger numbers of businesses in a given industry and jurisdiction. So a software vendor that implements UNTP once will benefit all it's customers. Additionally there are often a few standards and a few certifiers that are common to an industry and country. Finally, when a large community is willing to act together, there will often be financial incentives from governments and/or development banks that can assist with initial funding. In short, there are many reasons to approach UNTP implementation at a community level.

The Community Activation Program (CAP) is a methodology and business case for a community level adoption of UNTP including a tool for financial cost/benefit modelling at community level. The CAP is an ideal vehicle for existing industry member associations to bring new value to their members by supporting their connections into global sustainable value chains.

For more information, please visit the Community Activation Program page.

Impact Assessment Framework.

Once a community or individual company implements UNTP and transparency data starts to flow at scale, it will become important to continuously assess the actual impact realised. Dashboards and scorecards that measure key performance indicators will energise ongoing action and provide valuable feedback at both community and UN level. Therefore the UNTP defines a minimal set of KPIs that each implementer can easily measure and report to their community - and which communities can report to the UN so that global impact can be measured and mapped to the 169 specific targets defined by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information, please visit the Value Assessment Framework page.