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Key Message

Responsible, inclusive and transparent governance forms the cornerstone of the sustainable design and implementation of voluntary standards initiatives. By facilitating good governance across initiatives, the SMART initiative aims to improve the efficiency of, and access to, standards-based markets.

Standards and Voluntary Initiatives

Ensuring participatory and inclusive governance

What's New in Standards and Voluntary Initiatives?

  • Corporate Responsibility in the Age of Irresponsibility: A symbiotic relationship between CSR and the financial crisis? (PDF - 386 kb)Download
    In this commentary, originally published in December 2008 by Triple Bottom-Line, IISD Program Administrator Flavia Thomé looks at the future of corporate responsibility in light of economic turmoil. Three future paths are explored. "The causes of this turmoil are multifaceted. Although many issues remain unclear, there are a couple of conclusions to take from the crisis," she writes. "The first is that this was a crisis of responsibility, or lack thereof. The second is that it will only be repaired by the re-establishment of trust between companies (especially those in the financial sector) and their stakeholders. Logically, this presents a perfect entry-point for CSR to be finally recognized by the business community as a force of necessary good and long-term sustainability. The emphasis placed by CSR on the role of corporations in the larger social and environmental contract is key in preserving an ideal equilibrium of confidence and responsibility."

Standards and other criteria-based voluntary initiatives set rules for production and trade. Where voluntary rules-based systems integrate sustainable development objectives, participatory, inclusive, impartial and transparent governance form a pre-requisite for effective and credible application. To date, voluntary standards have shown a great deal of flexibility and ingenuity in attempting to meet these objectives in the international context. At the same time, the diversity of different structures and systems has remained relatively opaque to most stakeholders, including public policy-makers. Moreover, the fact that many such initiatives are often born out of small groups of collaborating partners can threaten their impartiality and the ability of other stakeholders to exercise input and influence. As a form of "de facto" trade policy, voluntary standards need, above all, to ensure participatory and inclusive governance in their design. The promotion of good governance among standards initiatives forms a key priority for IISD's SMART initiative.

Good governance and design are, in part, about ensuring the appropriate distribution of obligations and responsibilities; costs and benefits. To date, however, there is very little cross-initiative information or comparisons of the impacts of different standards initiatives. As a means for promoting transparency in governance and, ultimately, maximum efficiency in the application of standards-based initiatives, the SMART initiative is promoting rigorous science-based analysis and impact assessment of such initiatives. By promoting greater clarity and credibility in the science behind supply chain approaches, IISD seeks to leverage maximum impact and benefits from voluntary initiative and complementary government policy.

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