Transparency and sustainability in global commodity supply chains
Journal article, 2019
Over the last few decades rapid advances in processes to collect, monitor, disclose, and disseminate information have contributed towards the development of entirely new modes of sustainability governance for global commodity supply chains. However, there has been very little critical appraisal of the contribution made by different transparency initiatives to sustainability and the ways in which they can (and cannot)influence new governance arrangements. Here we seek to strengthen the theoretical underpinning of research and action on supply chain transparency by addressing four questions: (1)What is meant by supply chain transparency? (2)What is the relevance of supply chain transparency to supply chain sustainability governance? (3)What is the current status of supply chain transparency, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of existing initiatives? and (4)What propositions can be advanced for how transparency can have a positive transformative effect on the governance interventions that seek to strengthen sustainability outcomes? We use examples from agricultural supply chains and the zero-deforestation agenda as a focus of our analysis but draw insights that are relevant to the transparency and sustainability of supply chains in general. We propose a typology to distinguish among types of supply chain information that are needed to support improvements in sustainability governance, and illustrate a number of major shortfalls and systematic biases in existing information systems. We also propose a set of ten propositions that, taken together, serve to expose some of the potential pitfalls and undesirable outcomes that may result from (inevitably)limited or poorly designed transparency systems, whilst offering guidance on some of the ways in which greater transparency can make a more effective, lasting and positive contribution to sustainability.
Agriculture
Soy
Information
Palm oil
Trade
Deforestation
Disclosure
Commitments
Beef
Forests
Author
T. A. Gardner
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
M. Benzie
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Jan Börner
University of Bonn
E. Dawkins
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
S. Fick
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
R. Garrett
Boston University
J. Godar
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
A. Grimard
Global Canopy Programme
S. Lake
Global Canopy Programme
R. K. Larsen
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
N. Mardas
Global Canopy Programme
C. L. McDermott
University of Oxford
P. Meyfroidt
National Fund for Scientific Research
Universite catholique de Louvain
M. Osbeck
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Martin Persson
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Physical Resource Theory
T. Sembres
European Forest Institute
C. Suavet
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
B. Strassburg
International Institute for Sustainability
A. Trevisan
European Commission (EC)
C. West
University of York
P. Wolvekamp
Both ENDS
World Development
0305-750X (ISSN) 18735991 (eISSN)
Vol. 121 163-177Greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss from land use change embodied in international trade of agricultural commodities - a pan-tropical assesement
Formas (2014-1181), 2015-01-01 -- 2019-03-31.
Subject Categories
Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Agricultural Science
Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
DOI
10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.05.025