IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v201y2022ics0921800922002087.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is private sustainability governance a myth? Evaluating major sustainability certifications in primary production: A mixed methods meta-study

Author

Listed:
  • Dietz, Thomas
  • Biber-Freudenberger, Lisa
  • Deal, Laura
  • Börner, Jan

Abstract

Sustainability certification (SC) is one of the most popular private sector approaches to govern social and environmental outcomes of trade in products from agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Based on a sample of 175 peer-reviewed articles, we use a novel mixed methods meta-analytical approach to study the success of major sustainability certifications in promoting sustainable (primary) production practices. We consider both qualitative and quantitative studies. Our main data source are the discussion and conclusion sections of research papers. We analyze conclusive statements about the success of SCs and categorize them into favorable, mixed, and skeptical evaluations. The picture is dominated by skeptical conclusions. Subsequently, we analyze how specific study characteristics affect this evaluation. The distribution of favorable, mixed, and skeptical evaluations is largely similar across the areas of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Over time, the share of skeptical evaluations has increased. Contextual factors such as primary sub-sector, or country show no significant effects. The evaluations are also largely consistent across different types of SCs. Studies focusing on endpoint sustainability outcomes evaluate the performance of SCs significantly more skeptical than studies that focus on intermediate sustainability outcomes. Furthermore, our study shows that the share of skeptical evaluations significantly increases when a study examines the success of SCs for outcome variables with high implementation costs. Overall, our review points towards a limited success of SCs.

Suggested Citation

  • Dietz, Thomas & Biber-Freudenberger, Lisa & Deal, Laura & Börner, Jan, 2022. "Is private sustainability governance a myth? Evaluating major sustainability certifications in primary production: A mixed methods meta-study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:201:y:2022:i:c:s0921800922002087
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107546
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800922002087
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107546?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jorge Sellare & Eva‐Marie Meemken & Christophe Kouamé & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Do Sustainability Standards Benefit Smallholder Farmers Also When Accounting For Cooperative Effects? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 681-695, March.
    2. Dietz, Thomas & Auffenberg, Jennie & Estrella Chong, Andrea & Grabs, Janina & Kilian, Bernard, 2018. "The Voluntary Coffee Standard Index (VOCSI). Developing a Composite Index to Assess and Compare the Strength of Mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the Global Coffee Industry," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 72-87.
    3. Vincent Terstappen & Lori Hanson & Darrell McLaughlin, 2013. "Gender, health, labor, and inequities: a review of the fair and alternative trade literature," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(1), pages 21-39, March.
    4. Kais Bouslah & Bouchra M’Zali & Marie-France Turcotte & Maher Kooli, 2010. "The Impact of Forest Certification on Firm Financial Performance in Canada and the U.S," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 551-572, November.
    5. Oya, Carlos & Schaefer, Florian & Skalidou, Dafni, 2018. "The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 282-312.
    6. Anna, Petrenko, 2016. "Мaркування готової продукції як складова частина інформаційного забезпечення маркетингової діяльності підприємств овочепродуктового підкомплексу," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 2(1), March.
    7. Mena, Sébastien & Palazzo, Guido, 2012. "Input and Output Legitimacy of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 527-556, July.
    8. Ana C. Dammert & Sarah Mohan, 2015. "A Survey Of The Economics Of Fair Trade," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 855-868, December.
    9. Eva-Marie Meemken & Matin Qaim, 2018. "Organic Agriculture, Food Security, and the Environment," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 39-63, October.
    10. Weber, Jeremy G., 2011. "How much more do growers receive for Fair Trade-organic coffee?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 678-685.
    11. Niklas Egels-Zandén & Evelina Wahlqvist, 2007. "Post-Partnership Strategies for Defining Corporate Responsibility: The Business Social Compliance Initiative," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 175-189, January.
    12. Laura Raynolds & Douglas Murray & Andrew Heller, 2007. "Regulating sustainability in the coffee sector: A comparative analysis of third-party environmental and social certification initiatives," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 24(2), pages 147-163, June.
    13. Jan Börner & Dario Schulz & Sven Wunder & Alexander Pfaff, 2020. "The Effectiveness of Forest Conservation Policies and Programs," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 45-64, October.
    14. Maki Hatanaka & Jason Konefal & Douglas Constance, 2012. "A tripartite standards regime analysis of the contested development of a sustainable agriculture standard," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(1), pages 65-78, March.
    15. Verena Seufert & Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley, 2012. "Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 485(7397), pages 229-232, May.
    16. Christine Overdevest & Jonathan Zeitlin, 2014. "Assembling an experimentalist regime: Transnational governance interactions in the forest sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 22-48, March.
    17. Thomas Dietz & Andrea Estrella Chong & Janina Grabs & Bernard Kilian, 2020. "How Effective is Multiple Certification in Improving the Economic Conditions of Smallholder Farmers? Evidence from an Impact Evaluation in Colombia’s Coffee Belt," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 1141-1160, June.
    18. Froese, Rainer & Proelss, Alexander, 2012. "Evaluation and legal assessment of certified seafood," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1284-1289.
    19. Carlson, Anna & Palmer, Charles, 2016. "A qualitative meta-synthesis of the benefits of eco-labeling in developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 129-145.
    20. Rasche, Andreas, 2012. "Global Policies and Local Practice: Loose and Tight Couplings in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 679-708, October.
    21. Tim Bartley, 2022. "Power and the Practice of Transnational Private Regulation," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 188-202, March.
    22. Burkard Eberlein & Kenneth W. Abbott & Julia Black & Errol Meidinger & Stepan Wood, 2014. "Transnational business governance interactions: Conceptualization and framework for analysis," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Janina Grabs & Rachael D. Garrett, 2023. "Goal-Based Private Sustainability Governance and Its Paradoxes in the Indonesian Palm Oil Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 467-507, December.
    2. Karla Rubio‐Jovel, 2023. "The voluntary sustainability standards and their contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: A systematic review on the coffee sector," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1013-1052, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anja Garbely & Elias Steiner, 2023. "Understanding compliance with voluntary sustainability standards: a machine learning approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11209-11239, October.
    2. Sellare, Jorge & Meemken, Eva-Marie & Qaim, Matin, 2020. "Fairtrade, Agrochemical Input Use, and Effects on Human Health and the Environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Norma Schönherr, 2022. "Same Same but Different? A Quantitative Exploration of Voluntary Sustainability Standards in Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Oberlack, Christoph & Blare, Trent & Zambrino, Luca & Bruelisauer, Samuel & Solar, Jimena & Villar, Gesabel & Thomas, Evert & Ramírez, Marleni, 2023. "With and beyond sustainability certification: Exploring inclusive business and solidarity economy strategies in Peru and Switzerland," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    5. Andrew Gerard & Maria Claudia Lopez & Aaron M. McCright, 2019. "Coffee Roasters’ Sustainable Sourcing Decisions and Use of the Direct Trade Label," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Heidingsfelder, Jens, 2019. "Private sustainability governance in the making – A case study analysis of the fragmentation of sustainability governance for the gold sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Meemken, Eva-Marie, 2021. "Large farms, large benefits? Sustainability certification among family farms and agro-industrial producers in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    8. Julia Rotter & Peppi-Emilia Airike & Cecilia Mark-Herbert, 2014. "Exploring Political Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 581-599, December.
    9. Maurer, Rainer, 2023. "Comparing the effect of different agricultural land-use systems on biodiversity," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    10. Daniel Jaffee & Philip H. Howard, 2016. "Who’s the fairest of them all? The fractured landscape of U.S. fair trade certification," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(4), pages 813-826, December.
    11. Debuschewitz, Emil & Sanders, Jürn, 2021. "Bewertung der Umweltwirkungen des ökologischen Landbaus im Kontext der kontroversen wissenschaftlichen Diskurse," 61st Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany, September 22-24, 2021 317076, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    12. Andreas Rasche & Wencke Gwozdz & Mathias Lund Larsen & Jeremy Moon, 2022. "Which firms leave multi‐stakeholder initiatives? An analysis of delistings from the United Nations Global Compact," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 309-326, January.
    13. Karla Rubio‐Jovel, 2023. "The voluntary sustainability standards and their contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: A systematic review on the coffee sector," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1013-1052, August.
    14. Mikkel Kruuse & Kasper Reming Tangbæk & Kristjan Jespersen & Caleb Gallemore, 2019. "Navigating Input and Output Legitimacy in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives: Institutional Stewards at Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-27, November.
    15. Vellema, W. & Buritica Casanova, A. & Gonzalez, C. & D’Haese, M., 2015. "The effect of specialty coffee certification on household livelihood strategies and specialisation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 13-25.
    16. Domenico Dentoni & Verena Bitzer & Greetje Schouten, 2018. "Harnessing Wicked Problems in Multi-stakeholder Partnerships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 333-356, June.
    17. Thomas M Maak & Nicola M Pless & Christian Voegtlin, 2016. "Business Statesman or Shareholder Advocate? CEO Responsible Leadership Styles and the Micro-Foundations of Political CSR," Post-Print hal-01480535, HAL.
    18. Kate Barclay & Alice Miller, 2018. "The Sustainable Seafood Movement Is a Governance Concert, with the Audience Playing a Key Role," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, January.
    19. Barbieri, Pietro & Starck, Thomas & Voisin, Anne-Sophie & Nesme, Thomas, 2023. "Biological nitrogen fixation of legumes crops under organic farming as driven by cropping management: A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    20. Hadachek, Jeffrey & Saitone, Tina L. & Sexton, Richard J. & Raszap Skorbiansky, Sharon & Thornsbury, Suzanne & Effland, Anne, 2022. "Organic Feed Grains and Livestock: Factors That Influence Outcomes in Thinly Traded Markets," USDA Miscellaneous 319355, United States Department of Agriculture.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:201:y:2022:i:c:s0921800922002087. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.