Private Regulatory Governance and Sustainable Development: Is there a connection? Mapping linkages of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Sammanfattning: Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) share similar objectives. VSS are being increasingly used because of their claims to address sustainability issues at the production stage, such as greenhouse gas emissions in production, biodiversity conservation, labor rights, worker’s wages, local pollution and good corporate governance. These issues are also at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This commonality has picked up momentum, and there is an increasing reference to the SDGs in the official communications that VSS make, i.e., through their sustainability reports and their websites. Given VSS’s broad relationship to sustainability, it becomes evident that there could be linkages between VSS and the SDGs. It is also apparent that VSS formal requirements should mostly align with SDG goals and targets. Despite this evident connection, there is scant research that systematically presents what SDGs do VSS contribute to and the motivations that drive this engagement. This thesis addresses this research gap and identifies the current key linkages between VSS and the SDGs. The thesis also describes the motivations for VSS to engage with the SDGs and illustrates the role that leadership of VSS organizations plays in advancing the VSS-SDG engagement. Data collection is done majorly through 270 VSS organization websites and ten semi-structured interviews with VSS organization leaders. The results are analyzed through a framework developed using the categorization of SDGs, the logic of calculated strategic behaviour of certification organizations and the dynamic capabilities theory. The results show that for the VSS studied in the thesis, SDG 12- Sustainable Production and Consumption and SDG 8- Decent Work and Economic Growth, are the focus SDGs. It is also highlighted that some key SDGs that can be influenced through VSS work, like SDG 1- No Poverty, need more attention and contribution from the VSS. The research highlights motivations and driving factors for the VSS-SDG engagement and the challenges that are prevalent for this engagement to grow. Further, the thesis notes that overall, there is a positive outlook among the VSS organizations to contribute in the future towards the achievement of the SDGs. For future research, it is concluded that there is a need to establish whether there is any actual contribution to the SDGs that the VSS claim to be contributing to.