The economic impacts of voluntary sustainability standards along the coffee, fisheries and forestry value chains

The paper assesses how voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) affect global value chains in coffee, fisheries, and forestry. It finds that while VSS can create economic rents through improved organizational capacity and better relational ties, they often reinforce existing power imbalances. Market growth is largely driven by large retailers in North America and Europe, and certification costs frequently act as a barrier to the most marginalized producers in developing regions.

• Certified coffee markets are growing significantly faster than conventional markets, though they still represent less than 10 per cent of total market share. North America's influence is disproportionately high, accounting for half of the market for certified organic and Fairtrade coffee.
• There is a strong regional bias in the distribution of certified production. In fisheries, 82 per cent of MSC-certified fisheries as of January 2009 were located in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., and Canada, despite developed countries accounting for less than 40 per cent of global capture fisheries production.
• Certified forest area is heavily concentrated in the Global North; Western Europe and North America together make up 82 per cent of FSC-certified area and 93 per cent of PEFC-certified area, while certification in Africa and Asia is less than one per cent.
• Sustainability standards can generate 'organizational rents' by improving administrative and technical skills, but this benefit is limited because producers typically need existing managerial skills to achieve certification in the first place.
• Certification can create 'vertical relational rents' by fostering direct, long-term trading relationships and 'preferred seller' status, though these benefits are diminished in sectors with excess supply, such as coffee, where buyers can easily switch suppliers.
• Institutional rents are generated when certification helps producers engage with policymakers or secure land rights. For example, the MSC-certified lobster fishery in Baja California, Mexico, used its recognition to secure approximately $20 million from the Mexican government for infrastructure and social services.
• Price premiums for producers are relatively consistent in the coffee sector but have been generally disappointing in the fisheries and forestry sectors, where market access and security are more consistent benefits than price increases.
• The high cost of certification acts as a significant barrier to small-scale and resource-deficient producers. In Canada, certifying a fishery typically costs approximately CDN$100,000, with some specific cases reaching nearly CDN$400,000.
• Large retailers drive the demand for certified products through corporate social responsibility campaigns, but they often use their market power to shift compliance costs onto producers and avoid paying premiums.

APA

Sexsmith, K., & Potts, J. (2009). The economic impacts of voluntary sustainability standards along the coffee, fisheries and forestry value chains. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/voluntary_standards_eco_rents.pdf

Chicago

Sexsmith, Kathleen, and Jason Potts. The economic impacts of voluntary sustainability standards along the coffee, fisheries and forestry value chains. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/voluntary_standards_eco_rents.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sexsmith |first1=Kathleen |last2=Potts |first2=Jason |title=The economic impacts of voluntary sustainability standards along the coffee, fisheries and forestry value chains |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/voluntary_standards_eco_rents.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sexsmith2009economic, author = {Sexsmith, Kathleen and Potts, Jason}, title = {{The economic impacts of voluntary sustainability standards along the coffee, fisheries and forestry value chains}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/voluntary_standards_eco_rents.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }