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The Evidence Base for Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts of “Sustainable” Certification

Author

Listed:
  • Blackman, Allen

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Rivera, Jorge
Abstract
Initiatives certifying that farms and firms adhere to predefined environmental and social welfare production standards are increasingly popular. According to proponents, they create financial incentives for farms and firms to improve their environmental and socioeconomic performance. This paper reviews the evidence on whether sustainable certification of agricultural commodities and tourism operations actually has such benefits. It identifies empirical ex post farm-level studies of certification, classifies them on the basis of whether they use methods likely to generate credible results, summarizes their findings, and considers the implications for future research. We conclude that empirical evidence that sustainable certification has significant benefits is limited. We identify just 37 relevant studies, only 14 of which use methods likely to generate credible results. Of these 14 studies, only 6 find that certification has environmental or socioeconomic benefits. This evidence can be expanded by incorporating rigorous, independent evaluation into the design and implementation of projects promoting sustainable certification.

Suggested Citation

  • Blackman, Allen & Rivera, Jorge, 2010. "The Evidence Base for Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts of “Sustainable” Certification," RFF Working Paper Series dp-10-17, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-10-17
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    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/RFF-DP-10-17.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Hopfensitz, Astrid & Miquel-Florensa, Josepa, 2017. "Mill ownership and farmer's cooperative behavior: the case of Costa Rica coffee farmers," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 623-648, September.
    3. Katharina Löhr & Bujar Aruqaj & Daniel Baumert & Michelle Bonatti & Michael Brüntrup & Christian Bunn & Augusto Castro-Nunez & Giovanna Chavez-Miguel & Martha Lilia Del Rio & Samyra Hachmann & Héctor , 2021. "Social Cohesion as the Missing Link between Natural Resource Management and Peacebuilding: Lessons from Cocoa Production in Côte d’Ivoire and Colombia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Podhorsky, Andrea, 2015. "A positive analysis of Fairtrade certification," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 169-185.
    5. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    6. Volker Lingnau & Florian Fuchs & Florian Beham, 2019. "The impact of sustainability in coffee production on consumers’ willingness to pay–new evidence from the field of ethical consumption," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 65-93, April.
    7. Lemeilleur, Sylvaine & Allaire, Gilles, 2016. "Standardisation and guarantee systems: what can participatory certification offer?," Working Papers MOISA 250275, Institut National de la recherché Agronomique (INRA), UMR MOISA : Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs : CIHEAM-IAMM, CIRAD, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France.
    8. Yang, Zhiqing & Liu, Peiyao & Luo, Lianfa, 2023. "Growing exports through ISO 9001 quality certification: Firm-level evidence from Chinese agri-food sectors," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    9. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu & Buss, Mareike, 2013. "Is organic farming worth its investment? The adoption and impact of certified pineapple farming in Ghana," Kiel Working Papers 1856, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    10. Hidayat, Kurniawati Nia & Glasbergen, Pieter & Offermans, Astrid, 2015. "Sustainability Certification and Palm Oil Smallholders’ Livelihood: A Comparison between Scheme Smallholders and Independent Smallholders in Indonesia," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-24, September.
    11. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu & Buss, Mareike, 2014. "Certification and Access to Export Markets: Adoption and Return on Investment of Organic-Certified Pineapple Farming in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 79-92.
    12. Oya, Carlos & Schaefer, Florian & Skalidou, Dafni, 2018. "The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 282-312.
    13. Valencia, Vivian & García-Barrios, Luis & Sterling, Eleanor J. & West, Paige & Meza-Jiménez, Amayrani & Naeem, Shahid, 2018. "Smallholder response to environmental change: Impacts of coffee leaf rust in a forest frontier in Mexico," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 463-474.
    14. Victoria A. Maguire-Rajpaul & Vinesh M. Rajpaul & Constance L. McDermott & Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto, 2020. "Coffee certification in Brazil: compliance with social standards and its implications for social equity," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 2015-2044, March.
    15. Jessica Haynes & Frederick Cubbage & Evan Mercer & Erin Sills, 2012. "The Search for Value and Meaning in the Cocoa Supply Chain in Costa Rica," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(7), pages 1-22, July.
    16. Surender Kumar & Shivananda Shetty, 2018. "Does environmental performance improve market valuation of the firm: evidence from Indian market," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(2), pages 241-260, April.
    17. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Schilizzi, Steven G.M., 2015. "Quality signaling through certification in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 105-121.
    18. Ngougheme, Rene & Kamdem, Cyrille Bergaly & Jagoret, Patrick & Havard, Michel, 2016. "Impact de la certification sur les performances agro-economiques des producteurs de cacao du centre Cameroun," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 249294, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    19. Millard, Edward, 2017. "Still brewing: Fostering sustainable coffee production," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 7, pages 32-42.
    20. Foran, Tira & Butler, James R.A. & Williams, Liana J. & Wanjura, Wolf J. & Hall, Andy & Carter, Lucy & Carberry, Peter S., 2014. "Taking Complexity in Food Systems Seriously: An Interdisciplinary Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 85-101.
    21. van Rijsbergen, Bart & Elbers, Willem & Ruben, Ruerd & Njuguna, Samuel N., 2016. "The Ambivalent Impact of Coffee Certification on Farmers’ Welfare: A Matched Panel Approach for Cooperatives in Central Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 277-292.
    22. McWilliam, Wendy & Balzarova, Michaela, 2017. "The role of dairy company policies in support of farm green infrastructure in the absence of government stewardship payments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 671-680.
    23. Dankevych, Y. & Dankevych, V. & Chaikin, O., 2016. "Ecologically certified agricultural production management system development," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 2(4), December.
    24. Shachi Rai & Sangeeta Bansal, 2015. "Factors Explaining Corporate Social Responsibility Expenditure in India," Review of Market Integration, India Development Foundation, vol. 7(1), pages 37-61, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sustainable; certification; eco-label; literature review;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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