Regulating Transnational Sustainability Regimes

"Through their labels and logos competing for the interest of consumers, voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) are a visible feature in supermarkets and shops. With a few exceptions such as the European Union (EU) Ecolabel and some national equivalents, most of these schemes are set up by private actors such as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), producer organisations and even single corporations establishing social and environmental requirements for their suppliers. The emergence of VSS is traditionally associated with the establishment of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the rise of transnational civil society movements pressuring apparel brands over the labour conditions of their suppliers. The difficulty in reaching global agreement between States in remedying the 'tragedy of the commons', in particular depletion of natural resources and transboundary pollution, in combination with the jurisdictional limits of unilateral conduct, has led private actors to intervene in the regulation of social and environmental externalities connected to global production. The need to protect a reputation from scandal and NGO pressure, and to avoid liability and comply with applicable provisions, as well as creating new markets, have been equally strong contributing factors. Since the early 1990s the proliferation of schemes in sectors spanning agriculture to fisheries, and biofuels to jewellery has been unstoppable. From bird-friendly coffee production to acceptable working conditions in the garment sector, very few sustainability and corporate responsibility-related issues are not addressed by private standards. The most comprehensive database identifies 463 standards operating in 199 countries and in 25 sectors.4 Most of these standards are private, and the focus of this book will be limited to those"--

The first legal study of voluntary sustainability standards under both European Union and World Trade Organization law.

This book examines how voluntary sustainability standards can be used to both regulate and coordinate producers in industries.

This Handbook builds on recent attempts to understand new and evolving patterns of global governance by identifying, describing, and analysing more than 80 of the most significant actors in the regulation and administration of contemporary transnational economic affairs.

A guide to the meaning of environmental regulation in an era of transnational cooperation for sustainability.

From agriculture to sport and from climate change to indigenous rights, transnational regulatory regimes and actors are multiplying and interacting with poorly understood effects. This interdisciplinary book investigates whether, how and by whom transnational business governance interactions (TBGIs) can be harnessed to improve the quality of transnational regulation and advance the interests of marginalized actors.

This study explores the range of strategies for regulating the social and environmental practices of TNCs in Africa's extractive industries.

This book describes and examines three EU legal frameworks (EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law) that may affect the extent to which consumers purchase more sustainably. In doing so, this book goes beyond a rationalist understanding of the interpretation and application of EU law. Rational approaches have severely impacted the interpretation and application of EU law. Practice shows, however, that the implications of using a noncritical application of rationalist approaches in the interpretation and application of EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law to sustainability labels may have an inhibiting effect on sustainable consumption. The book offers remedies to overcome this inhibitive effect by critically applying insights from cognitive science and behavioral economics in the legal interpretation and application of EU law.