The first legal study of voluntary sustainability standards under both European Union and World Trade Organization law.

A guide to the meaning of environmental regulation in an era of transnational cooperation for sustainability.

"Through their labels and logos competing for the interest of consumers, voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) are a visible feature in supermarkets and shops. With a few exceptions such as the European Union (EU) Ecolabel and some national equivalents, most of these schemes are set up by private actors such as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), producer organisations and even single corporations establishing social and environmental requirements for their suppliers. The emergence of VSS is traditionally associated with the establishment of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the rise of transnational civil society movements pressuring apparel brands over the labour conditions of their suppliers. The difficulty in reaching global agreement between States in remedying the 'tragedy of the commons', in particular depletion of natural resources and transboundary pollution, in combination with the jurisdictional limits of unilateral conduct, has led private actors to intervene in the regulation of social and environmental externalities connected to global production. The need to protect a reputation from scandal and NGO pressure, and to avoid liability and comply with applicable provisions, as well as creating new markets, have been equally strong contributing factors. Since the early 1990s the proliferation of schemes in sectors spanning agriculture to fisheries, and biofuels to jewellery has been unstoppable. From bird-friendly coffee production to acceptable working conditions in the garment sector, very few sustainability and corporate responsibility-related issues are not addressed by private standards. The most comprehensive database identifies 463 standards operating in 199 countries and in 25 sectors.4 Most of these standards are private, and the focus of this book will be limited to those"--

This book examines how voluntary sustainability standards can be used to both regulate and coordinate producers in industries.

This study explores the range of strategies for regulating the social and environmental practices of TNCs in Africa's extractive industries.

This book describes and examines three EU legal frameworks (EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law) that may affect the extent to which consumers purchase more sustainably. In doing so, this book goes beyond a rationalist understanding of the interpretation and application of EU law. Rational approaches have severely impacted the interpretation and application of EU law. Practice shows, however, that the implications of using a noncritical application of rationalist approaches in the interpretation and application of EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law to sustainability labels may have an inhibiting effect on sustainable consumption. The book offers remedies to overcome this inhibitive effect by critically applying insights from cognitive science and behavioral economics in the legal interpretation and application of EU law.

The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Law offers a unique and unparalleled treatment and presentation in the field of Transnational Law that has become one of the most intriguing and innovative developments in legal doctrine, scholarship, theory, and practice today. This in itself constitutes an ambitious editorial project, not only within law and legal doctrine, but also with regard to an increasing interest in an interdisciplinary engagement of law with social sciences - including sociology, anthropology, political science, geography, and political theory. Closely tied into the substantive transformation that many legal fields are undergoing is the observation that many of these developments are driven by changes in an increasingly global legal practice today. The concept then, of 'transnational law' aims at capturing the distinctly border- crossing nature even of those legal fields which had for the longest been time been seen as having merely 'domestic' relevance. This shift also requires a conscious effort among law school classroom instructors, casebook authors, and curriculum reformers to adapt their teaching content to these circumstances. As the authors of this Handbook make clear, this adaptation requires a close dialogue between a scholarly investigation into the transnational 'concept of law' and the challenges faced by practicing lawyers, be that as solicitor, in-house counsel, as judges, or as bureaucrats in a globalized regulatory and socio-economic environment. While the main thrust is on the transnationalization of legal doctrine and legal theory, with a considerable contribution from and engagement with social sciences, the Handbook features numerous reflections on the relationship between transnational law and legal practice.

In 2015, the United Nations established seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that aimed 'to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all' by 2030. The chapters within this collection address each of these SDGs, considering how they relate to one another and international law, and what institutions could aid their implementation. Development has been a contentious topic since the decolonization period after World War II, and issues surrounding sustainable development are necessarily impacted by the multifaceted relationship between the Global South and Global North. Confronting the context and challenge of sustainable development, this collection outlines how the international economic system problematizes the attainment of the SDGs. Introducing a novel, cosmopolitan approach, this book offers new ways of understanding sustainable development and suggests potential solutions so that we might finally achieve it.

Environmental sociology attempts to elucidate the complex nature of human interactions with(in) nature, in the words of editors Redclift (international environmental policy, King's College, U. of London, UK) and Woodgate (environmental studies, Institute for the Study of the Americas, U. of London), who follow up on their earlier collection, The