Depoliticizing land and water “grabs” in Colombia: the limits of Bonsucro certification for enhancing sustainable biofuel practices

Selfa, Theresa; Bain, Carmen; Moreno, Renata

doi:10.1007/s10460-014-9509-3

Cited by 34 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Some studies argue that MSIs create no positive outcomes at all, and thus indicate policy-practice decoupling. Such decoupling is observed both in certification MSIs (Barrientos & Smith, 2007;Hatanaka, 2010;Marx, 2008;Schwartz & Tilling, 2009;Selfa et al, 2014) and in principle-based MSIs (Knudsen, 2011;Vigneau et al, 2015). Wijen (2014) has expanded this debate to include the role of means-ends decoupling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics

2019

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ABSTRACT:Although the literature on multi-stakeholder initiatives for sustainability has grown in recent years, it is scattered across several academic fields, making it hard to ascertain how individual disciplines, such as business ethics, can further contribute to the debate. Based on an extensive review of the literature on certification and principle-based MSIs for sustainability (n = 293 articles), we show that the scholarly debate rests on three broad themes (the “3Is”): the input into creating and governing MSIs; the institutionalization of MSIs; and the impact that relevant initiatives create. While our discussion reveals the theoretical underpinnings of the 3Is, it also shows that a number of research challenges related to business ethics remain unaddressed. We unpack these challenges and suggest how scholars can utilize theoretical insights in business ethics to push the boundaries of the field. Finally, we also discuss what business ethics research can gain from theory development in the MSI field.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics

2019

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“…Some studies argue that MSIs create very few or even no positive outcomes, and thus hint towards policy-practice decoupling. Such decoupling is observed both in certification MSIs (Barrientos & Smith, 2007;Hatanaka, 2010;Marx, 2008;Schwartz & Tilling, 2009;Selfa et al, 2014) and in principle-based MSIs (Knudsen, 2011;Vigneau et al, 2015).…”

Section: Impact Of Msismentioning

confidence: 86%

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics

2019

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Although the literature on multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) for sustainability has grown in recent years, it is scattered across several academic fields, making it hard to ascertain how individual disciplines such as business ethics can further contribute to the debate. Based on an extensive review of the literature on certification and principle-based MSIs for sustainability (n=293 articles), we show that the scholarly debate rests on three broad themes ("the 3Is"): the input into creating and governing MSIs; the institutionalization of MSIs; and the impact that relevant initiatives create. While our discussion reveals the theoretical underpinnings of the 3Is, it also shows that a number of research challenges related to business ethics remain unaddressed. We unpack these challenges and suggest how scholars can utilize theoretical insights in business ethics to push the boundaries of the MSI discourse.

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“…More recently, a burgeoning literature examining the social implications of biofuels production has emerged. This literature has focused on the emergence of global bioenergy networks and flows (Mol 2007), community and environmental impacts of bioenergy production in industrialized contexts (Gillon 2010;Selfa 2010;Bain and Selfa 2013), ownership structure of energy facilities (Bailey et al 2011;Bain 2011), large-scale ''land grabs'' and ''green grabs'' related to expansion of biofuels crops, especially 'flex' crops like palm oil and sugarcane that are both food and fuels crops in the Global South (Borras et al 2011(Borras et al , 2010Borras and Franco 2012;Selfa et al 2014), governance of bioenergy commodity chains (Bailis and Baka 2011;Elgert 2012;German et al 2011;Levidow 2013;Ponte 2014;Silva-Castenada 2012), and most recently, the livelihood and equity implications of changing land uses to biofuels crop production, including issues of food security, access to land, and income (Hunsberger et al 2013;Hodbod and Tomei 2013;German et al 2011).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, research in other sectors, such as forestry and fishing, and emerging research on bioenergy suggest that it is difficult to transcend local politics and power relations and socio-economic and environmental conflicts when these standards and certification schemes are operationalized into local environments (Ponte 2008(Ponte , 2014Silva-Castenada 2012;Partzsch 2011a, b;Klooster 2011;Cheyns 2011;Larsen et al 2014;Silva-Castenada 2012;Elgert 2012;Selfa et al 2014). More recently, scholars have argued that there is a mismatch between global standards for biofuels sustainability and the equity and livelihood impacts experienced on the ground, leading to recommendations that these local level concerns be more effectively incorporated into future governance instruments (Hunsberger et al 2013).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The case studies are based on secondary data, document analysis, and primary field research. In Colombia and Brazil, the cases rely primarily on secondary data but also draw on related field research that examined the challenges of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) for sustainability in the sugarcane sector in Colombia (Selfa et al 2014), and on exploratory community and key informant interviews conducted in Brazil in October 2014. The Mexico case study draws on document analysis, a household survey and 70 in-depth interviews conducted in the community of Sucopo, Yucatan, in 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

Selfa

Bain

Moreno

et al. 2015

Environmental Management

Self Cite

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Across the Americas, biofuels production systems are diverse due to geographic conditions, historical patterns of land tenure, different land use patterns, government policy frameworks, and relations between the national state and civil society, all of which shape the role that biofuels play in individual nations. Although many national governments throughout the Americas continue to incentivize growth of the biofuels industry, one key challenge for biofuels sustainability has been concern about its social impacts. In this article, we discuss some of the key social issues and tensions related to the recent expansion of biofuels production in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. We argue that a process of "simplification" of ecological and cultural diversity has aided the expansion of the biofuels frontier in these countries, but is also undermining their viability. We consider the ability of governments and non-state actors in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) to address social and environmental concerns that affect rural livelihoods as a result of biofuels expansion. We analyze the tensions between global sustainability standards, national level policies for biofuels development, and local level impacts and visions of sustainability. We find that both government and MSI efforts to address sustainability concerns have limited impact, and recommend greater incorporation of local needs and expertise to improve governance.

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Depoliticizing land and water “grabs” in Colombia: the limits of Bonsucro certification for enhancing sustainable biofuel practices

Cited by 34 publications

References 28 publications

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

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