Sustainability Research (SRI) PhD Projects

Unpacking power and framing in private, voluntary and inter-governmental standards in the Voluntary Carbon Market

Supervisor: Dr Anne Tallontire

There is an increasing diversity of private, voluntary and inter-governmental standards (e.g. Plan Vivo, CCBA, VCS) that provide a regulatory framework for the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). Whilst some critical questions have been asked regarding who benefits from these new instruments and how they actually impact on the environment at a local and international scale, there has been little work that has rigorously explored the ways that different kinds of standard or instrument may operate.  In the field of value chain standards focusing on social and environmental criteria in agricultural production and trade, there are signs of increased attention being paid to the political dynamics of private standard systems in ethical sourcing, with questions being asked about their operation, the differences between them, whose interests they serve and what impact they have.  How do they frame social and environmental problems and do these fit with the priorities of smallholders, workers as well as local communities? How are local communities involved in monitoring?  In particular research has started to uncover the processes by which retailers and others that share similar visions for agricultural development, such as donors and some standard bodies, exert and reinforce their power through the framing of narratives in the context of value chain governance.  The framing of a sustainability problem and the appropriate response is critical in shaping the actual outcomes or pathway for workers and smallholders and in terms of impacts on climate change.  This project would seek to unpack the politics and framing of different kinds of standards within the VCM that are being implemented across the developing world, including a comparison between VCM standards and the processes/framings therein with the emerging lessons regarding power and framing in value chain standards in agriculture.

Key questions may include: What processes have led to the development of different kinds of standard?  Who are the key players in designing and implementing these standards? What are the environmental, economic and social outcomes that are envisaged for different kinds of standard? Over what time-frame are these standards and their outcomes operational? What other tools may also achieve climate change mitigation, adaptation and development outcomes?