Moral markets in energy: Bridging the gap between policy, industry, and society

Abstract

Moral markets in energy: Bridging the gap between policy, industry, and society Dr. Panikos Georgallis, an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, does research on the interaction between companies and their socio-political environment when adapting to moral markets. Moral markets are sectors that emerge not only to address an economic opportunity but also to solve some social or environmental problems. This includes, for example, ethical fashion, organic goods, grass-fed meat, sustainable forestry, renewable energy, fair trade products, recycling and now, plant-based meat. These markets emerged to address some broader social or environmental challenge. They differ from conventional markets in a couple of ways. One is that their products are considered superior, not from a functional or a cost-based perspective, but normatively superior. We think that fair-trade products are better than non-fair-trade products, not because we can tell a difference in taste, but because of the way farmers are paid.