* Growth in sustainable products outpaces conventional goods
* Sustainable coffee now 8 pct of global exports
GENEVA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Markets for sustainable products, such as those with the Fairtrade label, have expanded rapidly over the past five years and are growing much faster than those for conventional goods, a U.N.-backed report said on Wednesday.
The report measures the success of initiatives aimed at providing markets in rich countries -- often commanding premium prices -- for producers in developing states who adopt environmentally sound cultivation methods or progressive social and labour methods that promote development.
The State of Sustainability Initiatives Review, produced by non-governmental organisations and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, looks at projects attaching environmental and social standards to commodities in the forestry, coffee, cocoa, tea and banana sectors.
Its findings include:
* Land under globally recognised sustainable forestry certification has nearly tripled to 343.60 million hectares in 2009 -- nearly 9 percent of global forested land -- from 122.27 million in 2004;
* Sales of certified sustainable coffee more than quintupled in the period to 392,347 tonnes in 2009 -- representing more than 8 percent of global coffee exports and 17 percent of global production -- from 73,602 tonnes in 2004;
* Sustainable cocoa sales more than tripled to 46,896 tonnes in 2008 (2008) -- 1.2 percent of global sales -- from 13,473 tonnes in 2003 (2003);
* Sustainable tea production has grown more than 50 times to 281,105 tonnes in 2009 -- 7.7 percent of global exports -- from less than 5,000 tonnes in 2004;
* Sustainable banana sales rose to 3.48 million tonnes in 2009 -- 20 percent of global exports -- from 2.13 million in 2004.
The review says that environmental criteria are the most noticeable features of the voluntary initiatives, covering topics such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation and banning genetically modified organisms.
Social requirements focus on compliance with international labour standards, worker health and safety and employment conditions, with less emphasis on gender, employment benefits, community involvement and humane treatment of animals, it said.
The initiatives are bringing greater transparency to global supply chains, but the review recognises that the initiatives themselves are coming under greater pressure to provide transparency and disclosure about their own workings, as they become more important economically.
The report notes that initiatives are opening up decision-making in supply chains to developing country stakeholders, who have significant representation at board level, although control in almost all cases rests with developed countries. (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Susan Fenton)