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The legitimacy of biofuel certification

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  • Lena Partzsch

Abstract

The biofuel boom is placing enormous demands on existing cropping systems, with the most crucial consequences in the agri-food sector. The biofuel industry is responding by initiating private governance and certification. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Cramer Commission, among others, have formulated criteria on “sustainable” biofuel production and processing. This article explores the legitimacy of private governance and certification by the biofuel industry, highlighting opportunities and challenges. It argues that the concept of output based legitimacy is problematic in the case of biofuel as long as no consensus or commonly agreed “best” solution has been established on what sustainable biofuel production is. Furthermore, it shows that the private governance initiatives analyzed fail to adequately include actors from developing countries. Finally, the article argues that we need mechanisms for control and accountability in order to guarantee that the political output of biofuel certification serves the common welfare. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

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  • Lena Partzsch, 2011. "The legitimacy of biofuel certification," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 413-425, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:28:y:2011:i:3:p:413-425
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-009-9235-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Strange,Susan, 1996. "The Retreat of the State," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521564298, January.
    2. von Geibler, Justus, 2007. "Biomassezertifizierung unter Wachstumsdruck: wie wirksam sind Nachhaltigkeitsstandards bei steigender Nachfrage," Wuppertal Papers 168, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.
    3. Strange,Susan, 1996. "The Retreat of the State," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521564403, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Inge Stupak & Jamie Joudrey & C. Tattersall Smith & Luc Pelkmans & Helena Chum & Annette Cowie & Oskar Englund & Chun Sheng Goh & Martin Junginger, 2016. "A global survey of stakeholder views and experiences for systems needed to effectively and efficiently govern sustainability of bioenergy," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 89-118, January.
    2. Spencer Henson, 2011. "Private agrifood governance: conclusions, observations and provocations," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 443-451, September.
    3. Theresa Selfa & Carmen Bain & Renata Moreno, 2014. "Depoliticizing land and water “grabs” in Colombia: the limits of Bonsucro certification for enhancing sustainable biofuel practices," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(3), pages 455-468, September.
    4. Richard Helliwell & Julia Tomei, 2017. "Practicing stewardship: EU biofuels policy and certification in the UK and Guatemala," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 473-484, June.
    5. Graeme Auld & Stefan Renckens & Benjamin Cashore, 2015. "Transnational private governance between the logics of empowerment and control," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 108-124, June.
    6. Pavel Castka & Charles J. Corbett, 2016. "Governance of Eco-Labels: Expert Opinion and Media Coverage," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 309-326, May.
    7. Rasul Ahmed Minja & Stefano Ponte & Asubisye Mwamfupe & Christine Noe & Daniel Brockington, 2023. "The Legitimacy of Sustainability Initiatives in Tanzania," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(3), pages 453-482, June.
    8. German, Laura & Goetz, Ariane & Searchinger, Tim & Oliveira, Gustavo de L.T. & Tomei, Julia & Hunsberger, Carol & Weigelt, Jes, 2017. "Sine Qua Nons of sustainable biofuels: Distilling implications of under-performance for national biofuel programs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 806-817.
    9. Nia Kurniawati Hidayat & Astrid Offermans & Pieter Glasbergen, 2018. "Sustainable palm oil as a public responsibility? On the governance capacity of Indonesian Standard for Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO)," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 223-242, March.
    10. Agni Kalfagianni & Lena Partzsch & Miriam Beulting, 2020. "Governance for global stewardship: can private certification move beyond commodification in fostering sustainability transformations?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 65-81, March.
    11. Marin-Burgos, Victoria & Clancy, Joy S. & Lovett, Jon C., 2015. "Contesting legitimacy of voluntary sustainability certification schemes: Valuation languages and power asymmetries in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in Colombia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 303-313.
    12. Laura Silva-Castañeda, 2012. "A forest of evidence: third-party certification and multiple forms of proof—a case study of oil palm plantations in Indonesia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 361-370, September.
    13. Lena Partzsch, 2017. "Powerful Individuals in a Globalized World," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(1), pages 5-13, February.
    14. Sarah L. Stattman & Aarti Gupta & Lena Partzsch & Peter Oosterveer, 2018. "Toward Sustainable Biofuels in the European Union? Lessons from a Decade of Hybrid Biofuel Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
    15. de Man, Reinier & German, Laura, 2017. "Certifying the sustainability of biofuels: Promise and reality," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 871-883.
    16. Arthur P. J. Mol & Peter Oosterveer, 2015. "Certification of Markets, Markets of Certificates: Tracing Sustainability in Global Agro-Food Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Mikkel Kruuse & Kasper Reming Tangbæk & Kristjan Jespersen & Caleb Gallemore, 2019. "Navigating Input and Output Legitimacy in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives: Institutional Stewards at Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-27, November.

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