Publications
Publications
- 2019
- HBS Working Paper Series
Golden Opportunity? Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Artisanal Mining and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
By: Kristin Sippl
Abstract
While much is known about voluntary sustainability standards' contributions to certain issues in certain sectors, less is known about their contributions to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper helps balance the literature via comparative analysis of the contributions of two voluntary sustainability certification programs for artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) run by Fairtrade International and the Alliance for Responsible Mining. Assessment of four indicators of contribution strength (SDG alignment, rule stringency, uptake patterns, indirect effects) suggest weak to moderate contributions to date. First, only the weakest versions of standards are being adopted and only by miners above the poverty line prior to certification. Second, adoption levels are low, and rates of decertification quite high. Third, indirect effects on consumers and public actors are equally weak. Yet programs do align well with the SDGs. To improve, programs should consider uniting, becoming more “producer friendly,” and decide which role within SDG and ASGM governance regimes they are best suited to play (which may be none at all). Findings contribute to debates on the merits of increasing global governance fragmentation and the role transnationalism in global problem-solving. The understudied ASGM case provides lessons about the diffusion of certification to new sectors, with the aim of guiding global resources towards their most efficient and effective ends.
Keywords
Sustainability Standards; Gold; Certification; Eco-labeling; International Law; Extractive Industries; Fair Trade; United Nations; Sustainable Development; Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Adoption; Governance; Global Range; Luxury; Mining Industry
Citation
Sippl, Kristin. "Golden Opportunity? Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Artisanal Mining and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-024, September 2018. (Revised April 2019. Revise and Resubmit.)