The effectiveness of standards in driving adoption of sustainability practices: A State of Knowledge Review
Voluntary sustainability standards are an important means of providing assurance that products and materials traded in complex, global supply chains have been produced in an ethical and environmentally benign way. Understanding what these standards deliver on the ground is an important part of the debate about their ongoing relevance.
This ISEAL commissioned report, carried out by 3keel and the University of Oxford, aims to understand the effectiveness of sustainability standards and certification tools in driving the adoption of more sustainable practices in certified entities, thereby contributing to the achievement of key sustainability outcomes.The report focuses on the changes of practices by organisations or individuals – such as the use of agricultural inputs, retention of wildlife habitat, and providing better conditions for hired workers – as a necessary step towards the final impacts of standards systems.
