The global network of biofuel sustainability standards-setters

Abstract

The role of network structure in shaping the regulatory scope and content of sustainability standards for biofuels is examined. A critical review of the literature on hybrid governance networks suggests the need to bring in network theory. Through a specific network analysis of the standards-setters, it is shown that not only does the institutional hybridity of the standards boards influence the regulatory scope of the standards, but the network centrality and specific topology in which standards-setters are embedded are equally important structural features of hybrid governance. These findings foreground the relevance of incorporating in the current attributional conception of hybridity a network element, taking seriously the role of network structure in shaping regulatory fields. Social Network Analysis as an analytical tool holds great potential for further research into the structural features of hybrid governance.