Sustainable Global Value Chains

Abstract

The number of sustainability standards has been steadily increasing over the last 30 years, with more rapid growth especially between the years 1990 and 2010. As of October 2019, the Ecolabel Index lists 463 ecolabelling systems in 199 countries and across 25 industry sectors. Ecolabel Index defines ‘ecolabel’ as “A sign or logo that is intended to indicate an environmentally preferable product, service or company, based on defined standards or criteria”. These schemes represent a wide range of types, from single issue, Life Cycle Assessments, to private and government standards. This chapter focuses on voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), many of which are associated with ecolabels. We define VSS as “non-governmental, voluntary, usually third party-assessed (i.e. certification) norms and standards relating to environmental, social, ethical and food safety issues, adopted by companies to demonstrate the performance of their organisations or products in specific areas”.