Emerging to the forefront of sustainable production and consumption are a promising and rapidly evolving concept known as Voluntary Standard Systems (VSS). They encompass the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and economic aspects and consequently they can be considered as a tool, which makes sustainable development visible. Currently, they are becoming a significant element in international trade and in the promotion of sustainable development strategies, especially in the context of globalised markets and supply chains. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the current VSS concepts: from their nature and functioning, to the future outlook for their development. It places VSS in the broader context of global development issues and challenges, including development policy and international sustainability commitments, progress towards achieving ‘green economy’ and meeting climate protection targets. The volume contains also a representative selection of case studies which demonstrate their wide range of application in different sectors of the economy.

Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) have become a common attribute of international production and trade. Even though VSS are not mandatory (required by law), in practice they often are necessary for producers to participate in global value chains. This paper uses a new international database to shed light on specific institutional dimensions of VSS systems that directly impact on the costs of compliance borne by producers and identifies a number VSS-specific features that are associated with the "producer-friendliness" of different VSS systems. These include membership in meta-standard organizations and stakeholder engagement in VSS decision-making.

Sustainability standards, their systems, role and impact -- VSS at a crossroads -- Is there any future perspective for VSS and what might it look like?

Emerging to the forefront of sustainable production and consumption are a promising and rapidly evolving concept known as Voluntary Standard Systems (VSS). They encompass the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and economic aspects and consequently they can be considered as a tool, which makes sustainable development visible. Currently, they are becoming a significant element in international trade and in the promotion of sustainable development strategies, especially in the context of globalised markets and supply chains. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the current VSS concepts: from their nature and functioning, to the future outlook for their development. It places VSS in the broader context of global development issues and challenges, including development policy and international sustainability commitments, progress towards achieving ‘green economy’ and meeting climate protection targets. The volume contains also a representative selection of case studies which demonstrate their wide range of application in different sectors of the economy.

For its proponents, America's voluntary standards system is a "best practice" model for innovation policy. Foreign observers however are concerned about possible drawbacks of a standards system that is largely driven by the private sector. There are doubts, especially in Europe and China, whether the American system can balance public and private interests in times of extraordinary national and global challenges to innovation. To assess the merits of these conflicting perceptions, the paper reviews the historical roots of the American voluntary standards system, examines its current defining characteristics, and highlights its strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, a tradition of decentralized local self-government, has given voice to diverse stakeholders in innovation, avoiding the pitfalls of top-down government-centered standards systems. However, a lack of effective coordination of multiple stakeholder strategies tends to constrain effective and open standardization processes, especially in the management of essential patents and in the timely provision of interoperability standards. To correct these drawbacks of the American standards system, the government has an important role to play as an enabler, coordinator, and, if necessary, an enforcer of the rules of the game in order to prevent abuse of market power by companies with large accumulated patent portfolios. The paper documents the ups and downs of the Federal Government's role in standardization, and examines current efforts to establish robust public-private standards development partnerships, focusing on the Smart Grid Interoperability project coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In short, countries that seek to improve their standards systems should study the strengths and weaknesses of the American system. However, persistent differences in economic institutions, levels of development and growth models are bound to limit convergence to a US-Style market-led voluntary standards system.