Governance Through Voluntary Sustainability Standards: An Introduction

Regulation of supply chains and associated actors has emerged as a predominant theme with the institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development. Private, voluntary transnational standards and industry and corporate codes of conduct have grown in numbers, geographic spread and coverage across a range of commodities, products, services, themes and industry sectors. The phenomena of multi-stakeholder-based and certifiable voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) are amongst a class of voluntary regulatory approaches and a new model of governance. This chapter sets the context and lays the plan for the book. Specifically, it outlines the context for examination of the experience of VSS in India and broadly reflects on how the voluntary governance landscape is shaping in India and the roles played by policymakers, businesses and civil society organizations.