The Dynamics of New Governance Arrangements for Sustainable Value Chains

Summary

Traditional state-centred governance systems have failed to tackle effectively the transnational problem of the sustainability of global value chains (GVCs). To fill this institutional void, industry and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) established a series of global partnerships that designed standards and certification schemes for global commodities. This chapter uses various theoretical lenses to address the question of the extent to which these arrangements can be considered intelligent and for what and for whom they are beneficial. Despite their relative success, these partnerships face some serious challenges. All key players recognize these challenges and have developed abundant initiatives to learn and adapt, varying from landscape certification and public standards to advanced traceability systems and harmonizing programmes. These innovations, however, are constrained by the boundaries of the current system and its underlying assumptions.