Summary
The paper reports on the results of a research project undertaken to look into the experiences of four private and public-private transnational meta-governance initiatives in the realm of voluntary sustainability standards. The project was aimed at uncovering: (a) How the selected meta-governance initiatives have given shape to their meta-governance aspirations, (b) How successful their efforts have been, (c) What factors have influences the effectiveness with which they have been able to effect change? This paper draws extensively on the observations and insights offered by a number of individuals directly involved in the meta-governance initiatives studied.