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Certified sustainability - on what terms? : a study on Indonesian oil palm smallholders’ and Swedish consumers’ motivations to engage with sustainability certifications

Iwarsson, Emmy LU (2017) SGED10 20171
Human Geography
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
Sustainability has become a leading concept in development policy and practice. The most recognized definition of sustainable development was coined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987. It provides normative guidelines for a common sustainability agenda and sees responsibility for, and benefits from, this common effort as universal. The agenda addresses stakeholders worldwide and its all-encompassing nature has led to the emergence of a wide variety of initiatives aiming to pursue sustainable development. One such mechanism is the sustainability certification, which seeks to pursue sustainability on market premises. The starting point of the thesis is a perceived clash between the aspiration of sustainability and the logic of the... (More)
Sustainability has become a leading concept in development policy and practice. The most recognized definition of sustainable development was coined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987. It provides normative guidelines for a common sustainability agenda and sees responsibility for, and benefits from, this common effort as universal. The agenda addresses stakeholders worldwide and its all-encompassing nature has led to the emergence of a wide variety of initiatives aiming to pursue sustainable development. One such mechanism is the sustainability certification, which seeks to pursue sustainability on market premises. The starting point of the thesis is a perceived clash between the aspiration of sustainability and the logic of the capitalist system in which it is implemented. It seeks to examine whether, and in that case how, this clash plays out. It does so by looking into the motivations of independent oil palm smallholders in Musi Banyuasin, Indonesia, for becoming certified by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil, as well as the motivations of consumers in the Lund-Malmö area, Sweden, for purchasing certified sustainable products. It concludes that market-based patterns of distribution are followed also in the distribution of sustainability, when it is pursued on market premises. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Iwarsson, Emmy LU
supervisor
organization
course
SGED10 20171
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
sustainability, sustainability certifications, RSPO, palm oil, political consumerism
language
English
id
8931097
date added to LUP
2020-09-24 09:39:10
date last changed
2020-09-24 09:39:10
@misc{8931097,
  abstract     = {{Sustainability has become a leading concept in development policy and practice. The most recognized definition of sustainable development was coined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987. It provides normative guidelines for a common sustainability agenda and sees responsibility for, and benefits from, this common effort as universal. The agenda addresses stakeholders worldwide and its all-encompassing nature has led to the emergence of a wide variety of initiatives aiming to pursue sustainable development. One such mechanism is the sustainability certification, which seeks to pursue sustainability on market premises. The starting point of the thesis is a perceived clash between the aspiration of sustainability and the logic of the capitalist system in which it is implemented. It seeks to examine whether, and in that case how, this clash plays out. It does so by looking into the motivations of independent oil palm smallholders in Musi Banyuasin, Indonesia, for becoming certified by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil, as well as the motivations of consumers in the Lund-Malmö area, Sweden, for purchasing certified sustainable products. It concludes that market-based patterns of distribution are followed also in the distribution of sustainability, when it is pursued on market premises.}},
  author       = {{Iwarsson, Emmy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Certified sustainability - on what terms? : a study on Indonesian oil palm smallholders’ and Swedish consumers’ motivations to engage with sustainability certifications}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}