Do Voluntary Sustainable Standards Induce Systems Change? Evidence from Sustainable Cotton Farming in Pakistan

Abstract

In the study of natural resource use, ecological variables and human activities have been widely analysed to answer the most pressing concerns regarding the future of sustainability. In recent times, a new school of thought has emerged that proposes the idea of applying systems thinking to holistically understand and analyse complex problems related to natural resource use. This approach is based on viewing a system as a whole, and studying the intertwined nature of different components in a system to evaluate the outcomes. By leveraging the systems approach, this study uses a diagnostic social-ecological systems framework to explain the diverging economic and environmental outcomes between conventional and sustainable cotton farmers in Pakistan. The study goes beyond the usual application of linear approaches in evaluating success of voluntary sustainable standards (VSS) in cotton farming to determine causation rather than identifying it. Using a mixed methods approach, data is collected from semi-structured interviews and Better Cotton farm results report (2015-2020) to identify the key factors and their interactions that determine sustainable outcomes. The study found out that this achievement is attributed to second-tier variables from governance systems and crucial interactions with the actors that are facilitated by the adoption of VSS in cotton farming.