Food Certification Schemes as Private Institutions of Sustainability

Abstract

Institutions of sustainability (PIoS), which are sets of rules that a series of private actors voluntary follow to reach a sustainability target. Within PIoS, a strong position on sustainability themes is used as a mean to maximize private utility. Consequently, there is a potential win-win situation for both the private actors and the society. Typical for these multistakeholder PIoS is their hybrid configuration. Ménard (2004) introduced the concept of hybrids as an intermediate between pure anonymous spot markets and firms as hierarchies. It is a governance structure where actors have transferred part of their autonomous property rights to others, in order to allow for some coordination between partners. One of the main examples of PIoS in the food sector are private standards and certification schemes, developed to guide chain members to reach certain social and ecological objectives.