Voluntary Certification Schemes Research Articles

Field evidence for positive certification outcomes on oil palm smallholder management practices in Colombia

Abstract The globalization of food systems has created new challenges for sustainability governance. Voluntary certification schemes, or eco-labels, have emerged as the primary mechanism to improve production practices in complex commodity supply chains. However promising, these programs are difficult to assess in practice, and evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. In the oil palm sector, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has become the standard for sustainable production but there has been no evaluation of whether certification actually improves social and environmental practices on farms. To our knowledge, this study provides the first farm-level assessment of certification programs in the oil palm sector by focusing on RSPO and Organic (IFOAM) certified smallholders in Magdalena, Colombia. We conducted field surveys to evaluate management practices using a case-control pair-wise matching approach and non-parametric tests to assess outcome variables between certified and non-certified groups. We found evidence for better environmental practices among certified producers including the substitution of synthetic fertilizers with organics, less agrochemical use, and larger areas of farms being set-aside for conservation. Socio-economic outcomes were mixed, with certified producers paying higher wages, but employing fewer workers due to lower yields. Price premiums were an important motivation for smallholders to both join and remain in certification schemes. In the degraded oil palm landscapes of Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America, certification standards could be improved by including provisions for increased habitat restoration on plantations and smallholder plots. We find that certification is making progress but is not a panacea for transforming the industry. Going forward, new strategies should be sought in tandem with certification to overcome smallholder informality, enhance inclusion, and capture more value in sustainable supply chains.

Long - Term Renovation Strategies, Energy Voluntary Certification Scheme and Building Renovation Passport: an overview on Energy Performance Certification tools for the European Building stock

The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2018/844 has huge potential for efficiency gains in the EU building sector, including measures that should accelerate the rate of building renovation towards more energy efficient systems. Under the 2010 EPBD, all EU countries have established independent energy performance certification systems supported by independent mechanisms of control and verification. However, current practices and tools of energy performance assessment and certification applied across Europe face several challenges. The paper presents an overview on researches and tools for the European building stock renovation process with the goal to highlight barriers, limits and benefits to increase the energy renovation rate. The main focus is to clarify the energy performance assessment and process for the certification and the introduction of the Building Renovation Passport, considering the novelty introduced by latest regulations and standards.

Do voluntary sustainability certification schemes in the sector of mineral resources meet stakeholder demands? A multi-criteria decision analysis

Acceptance by different stakeholder groups plays a crucial role for the success of voluntary sustainability certification schemes (CS). By including the demands of stakeholder groups, this study addresses this important dimension and makes an important contribution to the growing empirical and comparative research on the design characteristics of CS in the sector of mineral resources. By applying a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) the stakeholder demands placed on the design characteristics were modeled as weights. The CS Fairmined, Fairtrade, ASI and RJC meet the demands of all stakeholder groups because they perform well regarding all of the considered design characteristics. CS that were developed by representatives from the supply chain, the civil society and multiple groups noticeably better meet the demands of their broad underlying stakeholder groups whereas CS originating from mining representatives meet the demands of their stakeholder group less well. Furthermore, old CS meet the demands of certain stakeholder groups less well as they especially perform poorly in developing high quality traceability systems which might rely on a lacking experience of early CS in developing such complex systems. CS having an overarching mineral focus perform badly compared to CS with a specialized mineral focus in terms of meeting broad demands. CS might struggle when developing these design characteristics appropriately as the complexity of the design characteristics increases when focusing on several mineral resources. The results are useful for CS′ representatives as the quality of design characteristics can be improved with regard to important stakeholders’ demands and in the light of rival CS.

Do Digital Skill Certificates Help New Workers Enter the Market? Evidence from an Online Labour Platform

We study the effects of a voluntary skill certification scheme in an online freelancing labour market. We show that obtaining skill certificates increases a worker’s earnings. This effect is not driven by increased worker productivity but by decreased employer uncertainty. The increase in worker earnings is mostly realised through an increase in the value of the projects obtained (up to 10%) rather than an increase in the number of projects obtained (up to 0.03 projects). In addition, we find evidence for negative selection to completing skill certificates, which suggests that the workers who complete more skill certificates are, on average, in a more disadvantaged position in the labour market. Finally, skill certificates are found to be an imperfect substitute to other types of standardised information. On the whole, the results suggest that certificates play a role in helping new workers break into the labour market, but are more valuable to workers with at least some work experience. More stringent skill certification tests could improve the benefits to new workers.

Alliance for deep renovation in buildings. A step forward to the common European voluntary certification scheme

The ALDREN project (ALliance for Deep RENovation in Buildings) is the extended development and the implementation of a common European Voluntary Certification Scheme (EVCS) for non-residential buildings based on the EPBD Art. 11 (9) and CEN / ISO standards. ALDREN is a coordination and support action (CSA). It focuses on existing tools and schemes (partly developed by the European Commission), on networking, standardization, awareness raising and communications. The main goal of ALDREN is to encourage the construction sector value chain stakeholders to undertake deep renovation projects on their properties. Issuing completed and verified Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) before and after renovation, are to contribute to the development of innovative financial valuation of building assets and financing instruments (e.g. integrating loans with differentiated interest rates) and establishing business case for deep renovation to motivate private investment. The core objectives of the ALDREN project are: • To provide a harmonized European energy performance rating methodology based on the European Voluntary Certification Scheme (EVCS) verified by measurements to increase comparability, confidence and market uptake by standardized solutions (CEN/ISO standards) at European scale; • To associate low energy renovation with high quality indoor environments to trigger renovation and to promote solutions supporting health and well-being; • To align market recognition of high quality with enhanced building value and capacity building. The ALDREN overarching outcome will be the infrastructure to enable market transformation for deep renovation and directly support the EU policies (EED, EPBD). Specific solutions and step-by-step renovation process will be integrated in a consistent, common way in a Building Renovation Passport (BRP). The ALDREN BRP will be aligned with the GABC (Global Alliance for Building and Construction) Building Passport initiative, seconded by DG Grow and DG Environment and with the current initiatives for residential buildings. The non-residential sector (office buildings and hotels) is to be considered as a first step. To demonstrate the ALDREN approach , the upgraded EVCS will be implemented in pilot office buildings and hotels in different climates over the European territory. However, the ALDREN approach could be adapted to other market sectors, in a further development. ALDREN renovation protocols may be used as individual modules in existing schemes or as standalone tool, being potentially overtaken by Member States of the European Union.

Exploring the Role of Mountain Origin and Autochthonous Breed on Urban Consumers’ Acceptability

In the last decades, the European Union (EU) agricultural policy has encouraged extensive livestock farming systems as a sustainable way of production, while more recently, voluntary certification schemes on mountain origin and autochthonous breeds have been put in place to further contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and economic activity in mountainous areas. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to investigate the role of the mountain origin and local autochthonous breed certification on urban consumer’s acceptability; and second, to compare consumer’s overall acceptability at central location versus home-based. These two specific objectives are designed to better ascertain the suitability of these voluntary certifications as a marketing tool that helps to bridge the gap between urban consumers’ beef choices and rural sustainability. Main methods of analysis included internal preference mapping and cluster analysis. Findings suggested that both claims, mountain origin (Pyrenean in particular) and autochthonous breed conveyed relevant information to consumers at the moment of testing, while the former played a stronger role on hedonic valuations. We have found that the environmental setting significantly influences acceptability with higher ratings obtained in the home test. A small niche market for Pyrenean cattle breeders was also detected, while reaching the larger and more product involved segment of urban consumers would require further marketing actions.

Key Trends and Application of Sustainability Rating Systems in the Hungarian Office Building Segment

Enhancing the sustainability of buildings and construction activities has become a key issue over the last decades. Since in the European Union, the construction industry is responsible for about the 40% of the total final energy consumption, around 36% of total CO2-emission, and 32% of total waste generation it is not surprising, that the ambitious energy and climate protection goals of the EU pose enormous challenges to the sector. Although in the relevant literature there is a lack of common understanding of what sustainable and green buildings are, several quantitative and qualitative methods regarding the assessment of buildings’ sustainability, and approaches suitable for the examination of economic, social and environmental effects of buildings and the built environment have been emerged. The goal of this paper is to highlight the main principles and characters of green and sustainable buildings found in the literature, to summarize the key characteristics of the most important voluntary certification schemes applied in the European Union, and to present the current trends in the Hungarian Office market segment regarding the use of green certifications.

Success of voluntary sustainability certification schemes – A comprehensive review

Abstract Voluntary sustainability certification schemes (CS) like the well-known Forest Stewardship Council are valuable approaches to address sustainability issues in different sectors. So far, a wide range of single topic studies exist but few emphasis has been put on analyses investigating factors considered responsible for shaping different dimensions of CS’ success across different sectors and scientific disciplines. This study aims at closing this research gap by conducting a comprehensive systematic literature review of this growing body of research. Based on a database research, 226 records were selected to derive a framework explaining generic factors for the success of CS. To unveil broadly discussed factors and success dimensions within the literature, a contingency analysis was performed based on identified text passages. The relationship between specific factors and certain success dimensions is discussed comprehensively in the literature: The influence of the quality of the requirements and the capacity building measures on the problem solving capacity of CS as well as the influence of the characteristics of the adopting entities and to a lower degree governmental influences on the diffusion of CS are widely discussed. Moreover, the influence of the involvement of stakeholders and the transparency of the CS on the acceptance of CS is a main focus of analysis. A barely studied success dimension is the behavioral change towards more sustainable practices. These results enable and foster an interdisciplinary discussion on certification schemes which is necessary for understanding CS comprehensively and eventually driving practical improvements.

MedZEB: a new holistic approach for the deep energy retrofitting of residential buildings

The MedZEB (Mediterranean Zero Energy Building) approach aims at stimulating the market uptake of energy deep and beyond retrofitting of existing buildings of the Mediterranean. Its holistic nature implies the evaluation and integration of a range of relevant factors and the effective support to the retrofitting supply chain, also with the help of an ICT platform. Main concern of the approach are residential buildings within a framework dealing with High TRL levels and with already on the market technologies to be combined to create Med-specific cost-optimal Packages of technical Solutions, linked to a Voluntary Certification Scheme. The triggered creation of trust and information exchange will pave the way to new investments and strengthen the Med deep and beyond retrofitting network.

Green label signals in an emerging real estate market. A case study of Sao Paulo, Brazil

This article investigates how real estate stakeholders price information conveyed by voluntary environmental certification schemes in Sao Paulo, the largest metropolitan area of Latin America. In addition to low incidence of green buildings, the city and many local urban agglomerations in Brazil exhibit weak environmental performance due to limited capacity to enforce existing regulation. Therefore, we exploit the role of internationally accredited third-party environmental audit schemes. In addition to comparing labelled and non-labelled properties in a hedonic framework, we also examine pricing discrepancies related with the intention to certify (registration), but no achievement of actual certification in a timely manner. Our results systematically indicate that labelled office properties in Sao Paulo yield a larger green premium than their peers from developed countries. Findings also suggest that applicants who do not obtain the label upon delivery do not receive any green premiums and may be subject to discounts, depending on specification, beyond that of other non-green office buildings. These findings provide further evidence of the relevance of market diffusion and economic governance linked to the implicit pricing of environmental labels.

Smallholders do not Eat Certificates

Voluntary standards and certification schemes aim to play an important role in the creation of a more sustainable production of agricultural commodities in the South. In this paper, we contend that most studies on the sustainability of these certifications take the objectives of voluntary standard-setting and certifying arrangements as the reference point, thereby implicitly accepting a problem definition that is not necessarily aligned with the needs, interests and preferences of the smallholder producers in a developing context. Based on the results of a four years research project on coffee and palm oil smallholders and certifications in Indonesia, this paper questions the transformative capacity of the standards and certifications regarding a more sustainable agricultural production. This capacity is located at the interface of the global demands, which are channeled down from the top of the value chain, and the local context where local producers take their decisions. Based on the empirical research it is argued that voluntary standards and certifications pave the way for a more sustainable agricultural production, but are not necessarily the right way forward to a more systemic change.

Analysing the causes of environmental management and audit scheme (EMAS) decrease in Europe

Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is the most important public standard for an Environmental Management System. In the last few years, the number of certified organisations has been decreasing. Scholars have largely debated the drivers, barriers and benefits, but the recent decrease in EMAS registrations has not been sufficiently studied, leaving unsolved questions for scholars, practitioners and policy-makers. This paper aims to address this literature gap by (i) analysing the trends of other voluntary certification schemes in order to understand whether the decrease is a peculiarity of EMAS; (ii) investigating the reasons why formerly registered organisations have abandoned EMAS and why ISO14001 certified organisations do not adopt EMAS. The paper reports results of 17 interviews highlighting the lack of financial and human resources, the lack of market and stakeholder recognition, and the unclear added value of EMAS as reasons for the decrease of EMAS.

Toward a harmonization of national sustainability requirements and criteria for solid biomass

AbstractThis paper compares national sustainability support schemes and sustainability requirements in four countries that import solid biomass for heat and power generation: Belgium, Denmark, the UK, and the Netherlands. The paper also reviews voluntary certification schemes for solid biomass that may be used to demonstrate sustainability compliance. In the absence of mandatory EU criteria for solid biomass, different national support schemes and sustainability requirements may present barriers to trade. This paper identifies some possibilities for harmonization and provides suggestions for policymakers for the improvement and alignment of national sustainability requirements. Ultimately the paper suggests establishing a harmonized certification scheme in the short term based on legislative requirements in the four countries and in voluntary initiatives. The proposed harmonized certification scheme may also reduce both implementation costs and complexity for biomass suppliers and generators. In the long term, the paper recommends binding criteria on sustainability requirements for solid biomass at EU level. © 2017 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Are Green Labels More Valuable in Emerging Real Estate Markets?

This article investigates how emerging real estate markets price information conveyed by voluntary environmental certification schemes. In addition to low incidence of green buildings, developing countries typically exhibit weaker environmental performance due to limited capacity to enforce existing regulation. Therefore, we exploit the role of internationally accredited third-party environmental audit schemes. In addition to comparing labelled and non-labelled properties in a hedonic framework, we also examine pricing discrepancies related with the intention to certify (registration), but failure to achieve actual certification in a timely manner. Our results systematically indicate that labelled office properties in emerging markets yield a larger green premium than their peers from developed countries. Findings also suggest that failed applicants do not receive any green premiums and may be subject to discounts, depending on specification, beyond that of other non-green office buildings. These findings provide further evidence of the relevance of market diffusion and economic governance linked to the implicit pricing of environmental labels.

The role of voluntary certification in maintaining the ecologically unequal exchange of wood pulp: the Forest Stewardship Council's certification of industrial tree plantations in Brazil

Voluntary certification schemes have grown in popularity since the late 1980s. Today, a large number of consumer items from coffee and chocolate to oil palm and soya products carry labels that supposedly attest their contribution to promoting fair trade or a reduction of negative environmental impacts. Many printed books, magazines and other paper products carry a label promising 'environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable' management of the tree plantations that deliver the raw material for the pulp and paper from which these products are made. This article explores the role that one such voluntary certification scheme used by the pulp and paper sector plays in maintaining ecologically unequal exchange. Would ecologically unequal exchange in a certified product cease to exist if the voluntary certification schemes available for pulp and paper products were to become the norm, instead of just catering to a niche market? If the answer to that hypothetical question is 'no' – which it is – then the question that arises is: what role does the voluntary certification scheme play in upholding ecologically unequal exchange? This article explores the role of one particular voluntary certification scheme – by the Forest Stewardship Council – in maintaining ecologically unequal exchange in the trade of pulp products between industrialised countries with a relatively high per-capital consumption of pulp and paper products and the global South, in this case Brazil. It shows how, from the perspective of communities who bear the ecological, social and economic cost of industrial tree plantations and who oppose further expansion of these plantations, voluntary certification schemes have (inadvertently?) helped tilt the balance of power even further in favour of corporate interests for expansion. An unacknowledged imbalance of power between corporations and the certification schemes, on the one hand, and communities and their allies, on the other, has become manifest and aids further expansion of industrial tree plantations for production of pulp for export, thus contributing to maintaining ecologically unequal exchange.Key words: certification; commodity chains; conflicts; consumption; ecologically unequal exchange; environmental justice; Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), industrial tree plantations; pulp and paper; resistance struggles

Postawy i zachowania nabywcze kobiet wobec znakowania żywności symbolami dobrowolnych certyfikatów jakości

One of the roles of voluntary food quality certification schemes (FQAS) is to help consumers make responsible buying decisions. The aim of this article is to present the level of knowledge about chosen food certificate symbols which focus on ecological, economic and social values. In order to meet the goal, primary data collected in 2014 using the CATI method among 288 women living in Warsaw was used. Obtained data shows that the group was characterized by low level of awareness as well as unwillingness to shift towards food products labeled with certification logos. It was concluded that there is a strong need to strengthen the consciousness and trust of female consumers living in Warsaw in certification schemes and the impact of current food consumption on health and natural environment.

Dead wood availability in managed Swedish forests – Policy outcomes and implications for biodiversity

Dead wood is a critical resource for forest biodiversity and widely used as an indicator for sustainable forest management. Based on data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory we provide baseline information and analyze trends in volume and distribution of dead wood in Swedish managed forests during 15years. The data are based on ≈30,000 sample plots inventoried during three periods (1994–1998; 2003–2007 and 2008–2012). The forest policy has since 1994 emphasized the need to increase the amount of dead wood in Swedish forests. The average volume of dead wood in Sweden has increased by 25% (from 6.1 to 7.6m3ha−1) since the mid-1990s, but patterns differed among regions and tree species. The volume of conifer dead wood (mainly from Picea abies) has increased in the southern part of the country, but remained stable or decreased in the northern part. Heterogeneity of dead wood types was low in terms of species, diameter and decay classes, potentially negatively impacting on biodiversity. Overall, we found only minor effects of the current forest policy since most of the increase can be attributed to storm events creating a pulse of hard dead wood. Therefore, the implementation of established policy instruments (e.g. legislation and voluntary certification schemes) need to be revisited. In addition to the retention of dead trees during forestry operations, policy makers should consider calling for more large-scale targeted creation of dead trees and management methods with longer rotation cycles.

‘Healthy Buildings’: Toward understanding user interaction with the indoor environment

In recent years, research and the building industry have increasingly focused on issues regarding the lowering and optimising of operational energy use in buildings. This has resulted in several pilot projects illustrating how these can be achieved, e.g. Danish projects like ‘The Comfort Houses’ (some of the first Danish passive houses) and ‘Home for Life’ (active/zero energy houses). Besides exemplifying construction techniques and technical service systems as well as documenting energy use, the mentioned projects were evaluated according to the resulting indoor environment, qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings of ‘The Comfort Houses’ project show challenges in fulfilling elements of the indoor environment, primarily due to problems with overheating during summer. The study also concludes that the design process needs to contain analysis of the indoor environment, besides the development of the design, to make sure the demands can be fulfilled. The research further concludes that there should be more focus on occupants’ lifestyle and behavioural traits when designing and planning passive and active systems, as the assumptions in many cases did not fit. In one case, for example, a family was concerned about their child’s safety if opening windows sufficiently to allow cooling and therefore chose not to do so, with overheating as a result. Hence, user-friendly solutions should be important considerations to allow the ‘correct’ operation of systems while also considering realistic user behaviour. Similar findings appear in the research of ‘Home for life’. Overall, the project concludes that 50% of the altered preconditions are due to factors in the building, control and technology, and 50% are due to the family’s behaviour that was at variance with the original estimations. With regard to the passive house requirements, the main focus is on energy use. However, the passive house standard includes an overall demand for thermal comfort. Nevertheless, this is analysed by using values of the monthly temperatures in the calculation method on the overall geometry of the building. An hour-by-hour dynamic simulation, or at least a simple check of the 24-hour maximum temperature for the critical rooms, would be a more reliable methodology to state the risks of overheating in the actual design. This methodology would also allow testing of different scenarios of user-behaviour and thereby test the robustness of the design. Unmistakably, the abovementioned research states that the user-behaviour and every day practices of the occupants are of major importance in the performance of the indoor environment – issues that are not sufficiently taken into account in today’s practices. Along with the development of different low-energy and zero-energy concepts, voluntary sustainability certification schemes (BREEAM, LEED, DGNB) have been developed around the world – certification schemes that have a wider approach to sustainability than solely energy. However, the first-generation schemes still have a large focus on energy. Recently, the Danish sustainability certification scheme, DGNBDK, was developed taking its point of departure from the German DGNB certification scheme. The scheme is voluntary; however, increasing numbers of clients have requirements for sustainability and today very few buildings are built as certified passive houses in Denmark. Some of the first passive houses were built in 2008, and the last ones registered in the Passive House database were in 2013. Today, the passive house’s standard seems to have been be outperformed by DGNB. DGNB seems to appeal to many stakeholders in the Danish building industry. The certification scheme has a wider approach to sustainability and focuses on the whole life-cycle of the building while taking into account accessibility, flexibility, life cycle assessment and life cycle cost besides general issues like lowenergy use and indoor environmental goals. If the popularity of DGNB keeps growing, the criteria within the assessment will have a significant influence

What Does the Optional Quality Term “Mountain Product” Involve? The Biellese Mountain (North-West Italy) Farmers’ Opinions

The latest European Regulation on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, in addition to underlining the importance of consolidated voluntary certification schemes (PDO, PGI, TSG), confirms the importance of origin specifically for rural areas. The European Parliament drew attention to the need for the enhancement of mountain and insular areas and introduced the “Optional quality terms”. The Delegated Regulation, EU n. 665/2014, defined the conditions of use of the term “Mountain Product”. According to the current orientation, this optional term provides for a labelling scheme that allows to promote qualified mountain production. This paper aimed at the evaluation of when this term can be used i.e. the goods must meet set criteria as well as reporting the farmers’ points of view. The data were collected with the scope of defining a certification scheme dedicated to this optional quality term. A model mountain area (Montagne Biellesi, North-West Italy) was taken into consideration with semi-structured interviews on 33 farms collecting information from the producers as to their opinions on the use of this optional quality term. The resulting data, not only emphasizes the need for more extended and detailed communication as to which initiatives the European Union is taking, but also poses some doubts about the implementation of a certification scheme. As some critical points emerged, it would be advantageous to verify the consequences the adoption of the Term Mountain Product would have on all the stakeholders that were identified in the planning phase. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n1p18

Heterogeneous Price Premiums in Sustainable Real Estate? An Investigation of the Relation between Value and Price Premiums

Focusing on the voluntary LEED and ENERGY STAR environmental certification schemes in the United States, we investigate whether price premiums exist across all building value categories or are localized to specific value segments. We find that the largest value building segment does not demonstrate any price premiums, while the smallest value categories do. The concentrated supply of eco-labeled offices in large, high-quality buildings likely contributes to this phenomenon. Results from hedonic and quantile regressions indicate that price premiums for eco-certified real estate assets may not be uniformly distributed across value segments and that price premiums found in the literature are concentrated in smaller and mid-tier value buildings. This may be due to the comparatively lower market penetration of eco-certification schemes in these segments.