Selling Sustainability Short?: The Private Governance of Labor and the Environment in the Coffee Sector

Grabs' book combines an impact evaluation of 1,900 farmers with qualitative evidence to show how private sustainability standards encounter an institutional design dilemma as they scale up, highlighting how erosion of price premiums and adaptation to buyers' preferences have curtailed their effectiveness in promoting sustainable practices.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 24 March 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This question holds significant importance for conscientious consumers, academic scholars exploring the efficacy of private regulation, and corporate social responsibility practitioners alike. Grabs offers a comprehensive answer by conducting an impact evaluation involving 1,900 farmers, complemented by rich qualitative evidence gathered from the coffee sectors in Honduras, Colombia, and Costa Rica. By identifying an institutional design dilemma that private sustainability standards encounter as they scale up, this book delves into the dynamics of this dilemma within the coffee industry. It sheds light on how the erosion of price premiums and the adaptation to buyer preferences have diminished the effectiveness of these standards in promoting sustainable practices that come at economic opportunity costs for farmers, such as agroforestry or agroecology. Furthermore, this book gives a voice to coffee producers and value chain members, allowing them to explain why the current system fails to deliver environmental, social, and economic co-benefits. It also highlights the necessary changes required to achieve a more effective system.

This question holds significant importance for conscientious consumers, academic scholars exploring the efficacy of private regulation, and corporate social responsibility practitioners alike. Grabs offers a comprehensive answer by conducting an impact evaluation involving 1,900 farmers, complemented by rich qualitative evidence gathered from the coffee sectors in Honduras, Colombia, and Costa Rica. By identifying an institutional design dilemma that private sustainability standards encounter as they scale up, this book delves into the dynamics of this dilemma within the coffee industry. It sheds light on how the erosion of price premiums and the adaptation to buyer preferences have diminished the effectiveness of these standards in promoting sustainable practices that come at economic opportunity costs for farmers, such as agroforestry or agroecology. Furthermore, this book gives a voice to coffee producers and value chain members, allowing them to explain why the current system fails to deliver environmental, social, and economic co-benefits. It also highlights the necessary changes required to achieve a more effective system.

Weight: 474g
ISBN-13: 9781108799508
Edition number: New ed