Assessing the impact of voluntary sustainability standards in Amazonian enterprises involved in the açaí value chain

Abstract

The diversity of sustainable certifications raises questions about the credibility, intentions, and impacts of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) on Global Value Chains (GVC). Few studies show the impacts of VSS on different sustainable dimensions in sectors such as the non-timber forest product (NTFP) sector. This paper aims to investigate in the value chain of the most important NTFP in the Amazon, açaí, whether VSS contributes to sustainable outcomes in the Governance, Environmental, Economic, and Social dimensions. Using case studies in enterprises of the açaí chain and the use of tools and indicators was possible to generate information that is currently scarce for NTFPs in the Amazon from the VSS perspective. The results show that there is a great distance that the weakest links of the GVC (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises – MSMEs) must walk to adopt VSS and be inserted into the global market. The requirements are based on bureaucratic management activities, which are extraordinarily complex and involve many issues and indicators. The VSS lacks supplements that evaluate and validate the results reported by the companies as sustainable. Finally, the VSS is still far from ensuring an inclusive and fully sustainable chain by itself.

Keywords

• Voluntary sustainability standards
• Global value chains
• Non-timber forest product
• Amazon
• Açaí