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Seeing the trees for the forest: Adoption dynamics of the Forest Stewardship Council

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  • Charline Depoorter
  • Axel Marx

Abstract

The integration of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) into public policy (i.e., their institutionalization) is generally considered a driver for their adoption. However, although the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a leading VSS in forest governance, has been increasingly institutionalized, its adoption has been stagnating recently. To understand what drives this stagnation, we analyze the adoption of FSC certification globally and at the country level over a 20‐year period. We show that the global stagnation in FSC adoption hides distinct adoption dynamics at country level. We highlight three types of country‐level adoption dynamics: stagnation, growth, and decline. Based on selected descriptive country case studies, we explore factors driving these dynamics, with a focus on the role of governments and competition with other VSS.

Suggested Citation

  • Charline Depoorter & Axel Marx, 2022. "Seeing the trees for the forest: Adoption dynamics of the Forest Stewardship Council," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1788-1806, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:44:y:2022:i:4:p:1788-1806
    DOI: 10.1002/aepp.13263
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Donald Schepers, 2010. "Challenges to Legitimacy at the Forest Stewardship Council," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(2), pages 279-290, March.
    2. Galati, Antonino & Gianguzzi, Giuseppe & Tinervia, Salvatore & Crescimanno, Maria & La Mela Veca, Donato Salvatore, 2017. "Motivations, adoption and impact of voluntary environmental certification in the Italian Forest based industry: The case of the FSC standard," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 169-176.
    3. Axel Marx, 2018. "Integrating Voluntary Sustainability Standards in Trade Policy: The Case of the European Union’s GSP Scheme," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, November.
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    5. Lars H. Gulbrandsen, 2004. "Overlapping Public and Private Governance: Can Forest Certification Fill the Gaps in the Global Forest Regime?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 4(2), pages 75-99, May.
    6. Axel Marx & Dieter Cuypers, 2010. "Forest certification as a global environmental governance tool: What is the macro‐effectiveness of the Forest Stewardship Council?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(4), pages 408-434, December.
    7. José Carlos Marques & Burkard Eberlein, 2021. "Grounding transnational business governance: A political‐strategic perspective on government responses in the Global South," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1209-1229, October.
    8. Cerutti, Paolo Omar & Tacconi, Luca & Nasi, Robert & Lescuyer, Guillaume, 2011. "Legal vs. certified timber: Preliminary impacts of forest certification in Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 184-190, March.
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    1. Bösch, Matthias, 2025. "What explains the uneven uptake of forest certification at the global level? New evidence from a panel-data analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Axel Marx & Charline Depoorter & Santiago Fernandez de Cordoba & Rupal Verma & Mercedes Araoz & Graeme Auld & Janne Bemelmans & Elizabeth A. Bennett & Eva Boonaert & Clara Brandi & Thomas Dietz & Eve , 2024. "Global governance through voluntary sustainability standards: Developments, trends and challenges," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(4), pages 708-728, September.

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