ABSTRACT
Multi-stakeholder initiatives are an increasingly popular way for firms to operationalize their societal responsibility. Examples of such initiatives are the sector-specific roundtables on responsible soy and sustainable palm oil (respectively, the RTRS and RSPO), the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the multi-sectoral Ethical Trading Initiative. Such initiatives can be viewed as manifestations of private, public-private or, perhaps more accurately, voluntary governance, since they aim to respond to societal expectations that are not covered by law or regulation. While such initiatives are popular, little is known about their effectiveness. This chapter explores two systemic challenges to voluntary governance initiatives: inclusion and upscaling. Inclusion refers to the extent to which all relevant stakeholders genuinely participate in setting up and implementing specific activities in response to societal expectations. Upscaling refers to the extent to which successful individual initiatives are mainstreamed.
