Toward SuSTainabiliTy: The roleS and limiTaTionS of ... - Resolve

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Chapter 2: Actors – NGOs and Civil Society 27Box 2.2Key Questions for NGOs Considering CertificationStrategic Goals• What are the prospects for adopting a certification program asopposed to inducing government to act?• What are the strategic objectives of the certification system andhow closely do they align with your own mission and goals?• What role does market transformation play in your theory ofchange? (i.e., do you believe that market transformation canhelp to drive sustainable production?)Relevance of the Standards System• Do any of the existing certification systems address yourpriority issues (whether social, environmental, economic)?• If yes, does the certification system reach the geographic areasand types of resource use you need to reach?Impact of the Standards System• Is the system positively perceived by key stakeholders? Does itmeet global credibility standards? Who else is involved?• Can the system impact the issues you are working on atsufficient scale?• What level of recognition of the certification “brand” is there byconsumers or other end users?• Does the certification system have positive impacts on theproblem you are trying to solve?• How sustainable is the business model of the certificationsystem? How dependent is it on donor funds?NGO Role• If there is an existing certification system that will help you meetyour goals, how do you best direct it toward your priorities?• If there is not an existing certification system, do you want toplay a role in establishing one? What do you need to know inorder to make that decision?• Do you want to help to define and structure the certificationsystem? Do you want to ensure the credibility of the certificationsystem in implementation? Do you want to support market developmentfor certified products or help to build the supply base?• How much time and resources do you have to engage with acertification system? What is the most strategic use of thoseresources? How likely is it that you will have sufficient resourcesto continue to engage over time?• What kinds of coalitions can you build within the certificationsystem with organizations that have similar objectives so as tobe most strategic?See Box 2.2 for a series of questions for NGOsto consider when making decisions regardingwhether or not to take part in a certificationsystem.Drivers for FoundationsFoundations, too, are a heterogeneous group, withan array of motivations driving (or discouraging)their involvement with certification. Foundationstend to concentrate on the start-up and capacitybuildingphases of new approaches to socialproblems, rather than on long-term operatingsupport. And they prefer to fund organizationsthat can demonstrate results in a particular program,after which they move to other issues. Thishas proven a particular challenge with regard tostandards and certification systems, since—asdiscussed in Chapter 1—few such systems havesuccessfully developed self-sustaining businessmodels.Foundation funding for certification has moveddown the value chain to projects that help localcommunities and producers become certified.Some foundations established this support asa means to help local groups avoid being leftout as a result of certification programs in whichthe benefits could easily be captured by larger,wealthier producers. For other donors, certificationwork has shifted to local communities as partof a poverty-alleviation strategy (Taylor, 2005).In recent years, the shift in foundation dollarsaway from direct support of certification organizationsreflects a growing understanding ofthe context in which next-generation certificationprograms must adapt their strategies in order toinfluence markets more broadly.Funders recognize that even when consumers andbusinesses indicate a willingness, in principle, tomove toward more environmentally responsiblebehavior, the inertia in the system is immense.The resources of donors, which had proved sufficientto launch and nurture a new way of doingbusiness, may now seem inadequate to transformmarket behaviors in an entire sector. Key playersin the certification movement tend to comefrom environmental and science backgroundsToward Sustainability: The Roles and Limitations of Certification
Chapter 2: Actors – NGOs and Civil Society 28rather than business backgrounds and have hadlittle understanding of or stomach for the difficultdecisions involved in crafting standards andsystems that are feasible and practical enough tomake more than modest headway in establishedmarkets.Foundations have also begun to grapple with keyquestions and issues highlighted in other chaptersof this report and documented in the supportingbibliographies. These issues include, for example:▪ the cost and difficulty of acquiring and analyzingevidence of the impact of standards andcertification and how it was achieved;▪ the different circumstances and strategiesrequired for certification to gain a foothold inthe developing world and South–South trade;▪ finding appropriate balance and coordinating“carrots and sticks” to move producers towarda “gold standard” rather than fragmenting themarket with competing standards;The foundation sponsors of this Assessment hopeto use and share the results of the Assessmentto address key issues and to evolve their strategiesas they shift their role away from supportingthe established certification systems and towarddeveloping further innovation and strategies topromote large-scale sustainability in producerand consumer behaviors. Newer strategies mayinclude support for (a) better understanding anddocumenting the business case for sustainabilitystandards and more sustainable practices;(b) public/private assessment of and strategiesfor managing the impacts of market transitions,when improving practices for the long termcauses short-term displacement; and (c) definingsystems to achieve measurable results, to encourageinnovation and continuous improvement ofmanagement practices.▪ the critical work of public policy and governmentengagement;▪ evolving sustainable governance models forcertification;▪ balancing the “pull” of certification at the mostsustainable end of a market with a “push” toeliminate those practices that are illegal or themost damaging; and▪ how to approach key actors that resist oroppose the very concept of sustainabilitystandards.Toward Sustainability: The Roles and Limitations of Certification
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