Regulating the globalised economy: Articulating private voluntary standards and public regulations
How can the social and environmental impact of economic globalisation be reduced? Faced with the deadlock of inter-State negotiations aimed at implementing collective action, private actors – multinational companies and NGOs – are developing standards of “good” social and environmental practice, such as forest certification or standards regarding working conditions. Some people believe that the proliferation of these voluntary standards reflects the privatisation of sustainable development policy. Yet private standards and public regulations are often complementary and work in synergy ; synergies that must be consolidated.