Certifying China: The Rise and Limits of Transnational Sustainability Governance in Emerging Economies

(Earth System Governance)
A  comprehensive study of the growth, potential, and limits of  transnational eco-certification in China and the implications for other  emerging economies.

China has long prioritized economic growth  over environmental protection. But in recent years, the country has  become a global leader in the fight to save the planet by promoting  clean energy, cutting air and water pollution, and developing a system  of green finance. In Certifying China, Yixian Sun explores the potential  and limits of transnational eco-certification in moving the world’s  most populous country toward sustainable consumption and production. He  identifies the forces that drive companies from three sectors—seafood,  palm oil, and tea—to embrace eco-certification. The success of  eco-certification, he says, will depend on the extent to which it wins  the support of domestic actors in fast-growing emerging economies.

The  assumption of eco-certification is that demand along the supply chain  can drive businesses to adopt good practices for social, environmental,  and economic sustainability by specifying rules for production,  third-party verification, and product labeling. Through case studies  drawn from extensive fieldwork and mixed methods, Sun traces the  processes by which certification programs originating from the Global  North were introduced in China and gradually gained traction. He finds  that the rise of eco-certification in the Chinese market is mainly  driven by state actors, including government-sponsored industry  associations, who seek benefits of transnational governance for their  own development goals. The book challenges the conventional wisdom that  the Chinese state has little interest in supporting transnational  governance, offering novel insights into the interaction between state  and non-state actors in earth system governance in emerging economies.