ISEAL Alliance

Jason LaChappelle, ISEAL Policy Team.

ISEAL’s 2011 Conference kicked off with a stirring panel discussion about a cornerstone of the Scaling Up Strategy - engagement with emerging economies. The plenary brought together expert perspectives from Brazil, India and China, countries which are fast becoming critical engines in global supply chains.

These burgeoning economic powerhouses are following similar patterns of accelerated natural resource production and product manufacturing. They are also undergoing increased consumptive demands from an expanding middle class and a growing contribution to global environmental problems such as climate change.

While their interest in using voluntary standards to balance the multiple objectives of sustainable development is blossoming, this is relatively new and unfamiliar terrain for both standards organisations and emerging economies.

The audience of nearly 200 conference participants included standards systems, development agencies, NGOs, researchers, government and private sector representatives. This diverse standards community was reminded that while a strong collective strategy for partnering with emerging economies is essential, China, India and Brazil are each on a unique sustainability pathway which presents different challenges and opportunities.

Expert panel digs into what distinguishes new economic powers
Tasso Azevedo, the former Director General of the Brazilian Forest Service and founder of the conservation NGO Imaflora, made a strong case that Brazil has set itself apart as the undisputed environmental leader among emerging economies. He pointed to a positive turn in the national deforestation rate and to bold sustainability commitments made by the Brazilian government, including a 36 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases emissions by 2020 and a plan to set aside 10 per cent of land as protected areas.

While standards have made an impressive entry into the country due to an enabling domestic context, Azevedo conceded that new models are needed to address land use change in the interrelated sectors of forestry, beef, agriculture and energy.

Priyadarshini Sharma, Senior Manager with Tata Steel in India shared her company’s experiences in the implementation of pioneering human and labour rights practices and standards. The SA8000 standard helped improve statutory compliances with regard to contractor labour in Tata’s supply chain from the unorganised sector, on which there are studies available in the public domain

Taking the position that standards developed in one context cannot be homogeneously applied to different social, economic and environmental settings, Sharma suggested that the engagement between standards systems and stakeholders in emerging economies be more positive than punitive. She advocated for more collaboration amongst standards systems to create a common curriculum - a programme of minimum sustainability.

The discussion was rounded out with insight from three speakers who highlighted the complexities of operating in the evolving Chinese landscape. Martin Ma of Social Accountability International questioned whether the world’s biggest polluter (China) can actually rise to meet its ambitious sustainability goals, but also evoked the role of standards in shaping the nation’s sustainability platform.

Zhu Lingbo of GIZ and Ma Lichao of FSC hit upon some of the important drivers that have shaped the attitudes of public and private stakeholders toward standards. On the government side the Chinese position has started to shift from one of scepticism toward international standards to a real desire for practical approaches for using standards as a definitive policy tool. On the business end there remains a massive discrepancy in CSR performance, but we are seeing more companies participate in standards development processes, create their own initiatives and report on sustainability.

Emerging economies converge and diverge on sustainability factors
Unpacking the situations of emerging economies alongside each other is a fascinating way to draw out parallels between countries and also to understand where they diverge, all of which has implications for the strategies and directions of ISEAL members. Civil society is one sphere where clear distinctions can be drawn.

In Brazil decades of strong NGO presence have created a heightened public awareness of sustainability issues, which has translated into strong domestic pressure on government and business for responsible environmental policies. Azevedo cited statistics showing that 85 per cent of Brazilians see climate change as a serious problem and he affirmed that the hostility toward international standards that sometimes exists in other developing countries is absent in Brazil. Both consumer behaviour and Brazilian law hold business accountable for their supply chain activities, especially those associated with deforestation.

Sharma opined that the uptake of standards in India will depend on stepping-up awareness activities so that stakeholders and constituents have a better understanding of what standards can offer. Ma proposed that sustainability standards could be facing their biggest challenge in China due to the constellation of limitations on people’s rights and freedoms. A clear area of convergence among emerging economies is their desire for sustainability standards that reflect the local context and which are sensitive to national development goals. This issue is a lynchpin in the adoption of international standards. The demand for national-level standards has at times been framed in opposition to international standards, but Azevedo and Zhu argued that this dynamic is changing. In both Brazil and China the number of certified operations involving ISEAL members does not do justice to how instrumental and influential standards have in fact been in the two countries.

Standards such as the FSC and RSPO have been directly recognised by the Brazilian government and incorporated into public forest regulation. And below the surface it is evident that the content and design of sustainability standards have informed the public policy space with the government using credible and successful certification systems as a model. Although the state might not admit it publicly, the story is similar in China, where national sustainable development policies have been set with reference to international standards.

Reflections on scaling up impact
The panel reflected on some of the pressing issues facing sustainability standards as they strive to scale up their collective impact in emerging economies. With foreign direct investment pouring into the countries, it was agreed that leveraging the financial sector is critical, as investors are looking to protect commercial returns from social and environmental risk.

The speakers also grappled with the dilemma of reaching more producers and operations without jeopardising the integrity of sustainability standards. Certifying minimum requirements might be an avenue for incorporating more small and medium enterprises, but mechanisms are needed for rewarding best practice and continually raising the sustainability baseline.

While distinct drivers characterise the engagement of standards systems with each of Brazil, China and India, the time is ripe for closer collaboration on the whole. Opportunities are opening up for voluntary standards to be used as a viable sustainable development tool and the environmental, social and economic value of this budding partnership is being realised.

As the Scaling Up Strategy is implemented over the coming year, this space in particular will continue to grow.

Find out more and download a copy of the Scaling Up Strategy here.

To download resources from this and other sessions at the ISEAL Conference Public Day visit our conference resources page.