TY - JOUR
T1 - Global Governance Through Voluntary Sustainability Standards
T2 - Developments, Trends and Challenges
AU - Marx, Axel
AU - Depoorter, Charline
AU - de Cordoba, Santiago Fernandez
AU - Verma, Rupal
AU - Araoz, Mercedes
AU - Auld, Graeme
AU - Bemelmans, Janne
AU - Bennett, Elizabeth A.
AU - Boonaert, Eva
AU - Brandi, Clara
AU - Dietz, Thomas
AU - Fouilleux, Eve
AU - Grabs, Janina
AU - Gulbrandsen, Lars H.
AU - Harrison, James
AU - Heilmayr, Robert
AU - Hernandez, Ariel
AU - Hoekman, Bernard
AU - Lambert, Siti Rubiah
AU - Lambin, Eric
AU - Li, Li
AU - Maertens, Miet
AU - Batistic, Paulo Mortara
AU - Michida, Etsuyo
AU - Nakagawa, Junji
AU - Negi, Archna
AU - Pérez-Pineda, Jorge A.
AU - Ponte, Stefano
AU - Rueda, Ximena
AU - Schleifer, Philip
AU - Thorstensen, Vera
AU - van der Ven, Hamish
N1 - Epub ahead of print. Published online: 30 June 2024.
PY - 2024/6/30
Y1 - 2024/6/30
N2 - Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are transnational governance instruments that can be leveraged to pursue sustainable development in global value chains. They have proliferated since the 1990s in terms of their number and the share of global production they govern. This paper shares some key insights arising from the considerable body of literature that has analysed the role of these instruments for sustainable production and trade. First, it introduces VSS, traces the evolution of their adoption and takes stock of the research on their sustainability impacts. Next, some major developments in the VSS realm are discussed, related to public policy and the emergence of national sustainability standards. The paper then zooms in on the challenges and limitations of VSS in transforming value chains towards sustainability, focusing on the shortcomings related to inclusiveness and the problems arising from their proliferation. The paper concludes by distilling recommendations on overcoming these challenges, especially in light of recent policy developments, and outlines what different stakeholders can do to make VSS more effective and inclusive instruments for sustainable value chains.
AB - Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are transnational governance instruments that can be leveraged to pursue sustainable development in global value chains. They have proliferated since the 1990s in terms of their number and the share of global production they govern. This paper shares some key insights arising from the considerable body of literature that has analysed the role of these instruments for sustainable production and trade. First, it introduces VSS, traces the evolution of their adoption and takes stock of the research on their sustainability impacts. Next, some major developments in the VSS realm are discussed, related to public policy and the emergence of national sustainability standards. The paper then zooms in on the challenges and limitations of VSS in transforming value chains towards sustainability, focusing on the shortcomings related to inclusiveness and the problems arising from their proliferation. The paper concludes by distilling recommendations on overcoming these challenges, especially in light of recent policy developments, and outlines what different stakeholders can do to make VSS more effective and inclusive instruments for sustainable value chains.
U2 - 10.1111/1758-5899.13401
DO - 10.1111/1758-5899.13401
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1758-5880
JO - Global Policy
JF - Global Policy
ER -