Certifiably Sustainable? The Role of Third-Party Certification Systems: Report of a Workshop (2010) / Chapter Skim
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6 Measuring Success
6 Measuring Success
Pages 47-56
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From page 47... ...
Participants noted the dearth of peer-reviewed analyses of individual programs and of the field as a whole.1 Without more rigorous analysis of what is working on the ground, what has not worked, and why, it is difficult to envision these voluntary certification programs being widely adopted and truly transforming markets. In particular, many participants suggested the need for improvements in the baselines for measurement, the impacts measured, and the scale at which programs are analyzed.
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From page 48... ...
Even if the particular standards are considered rigorous and based on sound science, certification programs rely heavily on their "theory of change" with the belief that, by changing certain practices through prescriptive guidelines, production will become more sustainable. However, the programs rarely conduct baseline assessments against which they could measure improvements in performance.
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From page 49... ...
WHAT TO MEASURE Certification programs often do include some performance indicators, but as many participants pointed out, these indicators focus on management performance. In other words, they are measuring process changes but typically not their environmental and social outcomes.
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WIDENING THE LENS Given the amount of activity taking place, it is critical that we begin learning from these ongoing "field experiments" and clarify how standards systems are contributing to sustainable outcomes. Some participants remarked that there is a lack of peer-reviewed, analytical literature on certification programs, specifically with regard to their impacts.
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From page 51... ...
There are recent instances of converging interests, such as the Sustainable Tourism Council working with the UN on a global standard. Many participants also mentioned alternative approaches, particularly supply chain and global value chain approaches, to fostering sustainability within a given sector.
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certIfIaBlY sustaInaBle? BOX 5 Green Building: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
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measurIng success and maintain; and have a reduced environmental footprint. This program was designed to work handinhand with the LEED for Core & Shell, which became available in July 2006.
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The COSA approach is still in its pilot phase, but some early findings, like the tendency of higher compliance costs to yield higher net income for farmers, appear worthy of further study. Cost distribution in general is an issue that is beginning to attract attention, given that certification programs entail costs that are neither uniformly distributed nor universally recouped.
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From page 55... ...
Finally, in thinking through the lifecycle of a certification program itself, some participants remarked that most programs are not giving due consideration to their long-term or exit strategies. The existing market share of some certification programs has been dependent upon subsidies from the donor community, but this is not often acknowledged.
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