1. Manning L. & Kowalska A. (2024) The role of governments in driving sustainability standards: Green finance and implications for agri-food supply chains. Manning L. (ed.), Improving standards and certification in agri-food supply chains: Ensuring safety, sustainability and social responsibility Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2024, (ISBN: 978 1 80146 451 2)

Agri-food systems encompass food production from primary production, then secondary 7 production to further stages of processing, storage, transformation and distribution through to 8 retail or food service and finally the consumer and activities in the home before the outputs of 9 this activity end up on the plate. Agri-food production has been linked to a number of negative 10 environmental and social externalities including environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, 11 greenhouse gas emissions and labour abuses and there are growing demands that these 12 negative aspects should be addressed. This chapter considers the role of governments in 13 driving sustainability standards with a particular focus on green finance and the implications 14 for agri-food systems. The links between supranational policy, regional and national 15 regulations and their impact on private organisations is explored using the European Union as 16 a case study. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the implications for accessing insurance and 17 finance for organisations in agri-food supply chains going forward.