Sustainability standards and certification
Encyclopedia
Summary
The term “sustainabilitySustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
standards” refers to a voluntary, usually third party-assessed, norms and standards relating to environmental, social, ethical and food safety issues, adopted by companies to demonstrate the performance of their organizations or products in specific areas. There are perhaps up to 500 such standards and the pace of introduction has increased in the last decade. The trend started in the late 1980s and 90s with the introduction of Ecolabel
Ecolabel
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labelling systems for food and consumer products. Ecolabels are often voluntary, but Green Stickers are mandated by law in North America for major appliances and automobiles. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it...
s and standards for Organic food
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
and other products. In recent years, numerous standards have been established and adopted in the food industry in particular. Most of them refer to the triple bottom line of environmental quality, social equity, and economic prosperity. The basic premise of sustainability standards is two fold. Firstly, they emerged in areas where national and global legislation was weak but where the consumer and NGO movements around the globe demanded action. For example, campaigns by Global Exchangeand other NGOs against the purchase of goods from “sweatshop
Sweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
” factories by the likes of Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
and other leading brands led to the emergence of social welfare standards like the SA8000
SA8000
SA8000 is a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, developed and overseen by Social Accountability International . Detailed guidance for implementing or auditing to SA8000 are available from its . SAI offers training in SA8000 and other workplace standards to managers,...
and others. Secondly, leading brands selling to both consumers and to the B2B
Business-to-business
Business-to-business describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer...
supply chain may wish to demonstrate the environmental or organic merits of their products, which has led to the emergence of hundreds of ecolabels, organic and other standards. A leading example of a consumer standard is the Fairtrade movement, administered by FLO International and exhibiting huge sales growth around the world for ethically sourced produce. An example of a B2B
Business-to-business
Business-to-business describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer...
standard which has grown tremendously in the last few years is the Forest Stewardship Council
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
’s standard (FSC) for forest products made from sustainably harvested trees. However, the line between consumer and B2B sustainability standards is becoming blurred, with leading trade buyers increasingly demanding Fairtrade certification, for example, and consumers increasingly recognizing the FSC mark. A list of 350 or so of the main global sustainability standards may be found here.
Different sustainability standards
Numerous sustainability standards have been developed in recent years to address issues of environmental quality, social equity, and economic prosperity of global production and trade practices. Despite similarities in major goals and certification procedures, there are some significant differences in terms of their historical development, target groups of adopters, geographical diffusion, and emphasis on environmental, social or economic issues.Fairtrade
The Fairtrade label was developed in the late 1980s by a Dutch development agency in collaboration with Mexican farmers. The initiative performs development work and promotes its political vision of an alternative economy, seeing its main objective in empowering small producers and providing these with access to and improving their position on global markets. The most distinguishing feature of the Fairtrade label is the guarantee of a minimum price and a social premium that goes to the cooperative and not to the producers directly. Recently, Fairtrade also adopted environmental objectives as part of their certification system. The most prominent standard and associated certification system within the Fairtrade movement is administered by FLO International, a Bonn based non profit organization which controls the Fairtrade Certification Mark, a standard to which over 800 producer organisations have been certified to as of 2011Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest AllianceRainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization with the published aims of working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. It is based in New York City, and has offices throughout the...
was created in the late 1980s from a social movement and is committed to conserving rainforests and their biodiversity. One key element of the standard is the compulsory elaboration and implementation of a detailed plan for the development of a sustainable farm management system so as to assist wildlife conservation. Another objective is to improve workers’ welfare by establishing and securing sustainable livelihoods. Producer prices may carry a premium. Yet instead of guaranteeing a fixed floor price, the standard seeks to improve the economic situation of producers through higher yields and enhanced cost efficiency.
Utz Certified
Utz CertifiedUTZ Certified
UTZ CERTIFIED is a certification program for agricultural products launched in 2002 which claims to be the largest coffee certifier in the world. It was formerly known as Utz Kapeh. On the 7th of March, 2007, the Utz Kapeh Foundation officially changed its name and logo to UTZ CERTIFIED 'Good Inside'...
(formerly Utz Kapeh) was co-founded by the Dutch coffee roaster Ahold Coffee Company in 1997. It aims to create an open and transparent marketplace for socially and environmentally responsible agricultural products. Instruments include the UTZ Traceability System and the UTZ Code of Conduct. The traceability system makes certified products traceable from producer to final buyer and has stringent chains of custody requirements. The UTZ Code of Conduct emphasizes both environmental practices (e.g. biodiversity conservation, waste handling and water use) and social benefits (e.g. access to medical care, access to sanitary facilities at work).
Organic
The OrganicOrganic
Organic may refer to:* Of or relating to an organism, a living entity* Of or relating to an organ- Chemistry :* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or the product of decay, or is composed of organic compound* Organic chemistry, chemistry involving...
standard was developed in the 1970s and is based on IFOAM Basic Standards. IFOAM stands for International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and is the leading global umbrella organization for the organic farming movement. The IFOAM Basic Standards provide a framework of minimum requirements, including the omission of agrochemicals such as pesticides and chemical-synthetic fertilizers. The use of animal feeds is also strictly regulated. Genetic engineering and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are forbidden.
Origin of global standards
Most sustainability standards that are being adopted today were initiated by social movements in particular countries, such as Rainforest Alliance in the United States and Fairtrade in the Netherlands. Other standards were initiated by individual companies, such as Utz Certified (Ahold), Starbucks C.A.F.E. (Starbucks), and Nespresso AAA (Nespresso). Some standards were launched by coalitions of private firms, development agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders. For example, the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C) was initiated by an alliance of main coffee roasters, including Kraft FoodsKraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, Sara Lee
Sara Lee
Sara Lee Corporation is a global consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. It has operations in more than 40 countries and sells its products in over 180 nations worldwide...
and Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, assisted by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development GIZ.
There are important facilitating conditions for standards development. One important factor are institutional and economic conditions in particular consuming countries, e.g. awareness of environmental and social issues among consumers as well as institutional support for sustainability initiatives. One example for the former are long-term sustainability movements in the Netherlands; one example for the latter are government-funded development programs around sustainability in Germany. Another important factor are supporting political and economic conditions in producing countries, as well as successful pilot projects involving multiple stakeholders, such as development agencies, NGOs, local producers, and multinational corporations. For example, the Fairtrade standard was developed based on pilot projects with Mexican farmers. 4C builds on development projects in Peru, Colombia and Vietnam, involving GIZ, major coffee roasters, and local producers.
Recommended Readings
- Giovannucci, D. 2001. Sustainable Coffee Survey of the North American Specialty Coffee Industry. Conducted for The Summit Foundation, The Nature Conservancy North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation Specialty Coffee Association of America, The World Bank. Download
- Giovannucci, D. & Potts, J., 2008. Seeking Sustainability COSA Preliminary Analysis of Sustainability Initiatives in the Coffee Sector. IISD: Winnipeg.
- Gulbrandsen L. H. 2008. Accountability Arrangements in Non-State Standards Organizations: Instrumental Design and Imitation. Organization 15: 563-583.
- Kolk, A. 2005. Corporate social responsibility in the coffee sector: The dynamics of MNC responses and code development. European Management Journal, 23(2): 228-236.
- Manning, S., Boons, F., Von Hagen, O., Reinecke, J. 2011. National Contexts Matter: The Co-Evolution of Sustainability Standards in Global Value Chains. Ecological Economics, Forthcoming.
- Manning, S., von Hagen, O. 2010. Linking Local Experiments to Global Standards: How Project Networks Promote Global Institution-Building. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26 (4), 398-416.
- Muradian, R. & Pelupessy, W. 2005. Governing the coffee chain: the role of voluntary regulatory systems. World Development, 33(12): 2029-2044.
- Reinecke, J. 2010. Beyond a subjective theory of value and towards a ‘fair price’: an organizational perspective on Fairtrade minimum price setting. Organization 17(5): 1-19.