摘要
This report, produced as part of the Horizon 2020 project ‘Empowerment of rural areas, support to policies and rural innovation’ analyses the impact of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) on the sustainability of global value chains. The researchers employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating an extensive literature review and meta-analysis of existing VSS impact studies with original primary data collection in Ghana and Vietnam. The empirical research design involved quantitative surveys with 321 cocoa farmers in Ghana and 310 coffee farmers in Vietnam, as well as qualitative in-depth interviews with key industry stakeholders and policymakers.
Findings indicate that while VSS can improve environmental awareness and market access, they often provide insufficient price premiums to significantly alleviate smallholder poverty or offset high compliance costs. A unique observation from the field data is a sharp sectoral divide in attitudes, where cocoa traders in Ghana expressed significant concern that sustainability standards would decrease their profits, whereas coffee traders in Vietnam remained generally more favourable. To address these issues, the report recommends strengthening global governance by making the participation of smallholder producers in standard-setting processes compulsory to prevent “race-to-the-bottom” scenarios in certification stringency. Finally, the authors suggest that public policy should leverage due diligence regulations to make multinational corporations more accountable while establishing clear systems to recognise and promote only the most credible sustainability labels.