Publication:
Motivations, adoption and impact of voluntary environmental certification in the Italian Forest based industry: The case of the FSC standard

dc.contributor.authorGalati, A.
dc.contributor.authorGianguzzi, G.
dc.contributor.authorTinervia, S.
dc.contributor.authorCrescimanno, M.
dc.contributor.authorLa Mela Veca, D.S.
dc.date.accessioned2022-01-23T18:56:07Z
dc.date.available2022-01-23T18:56:07Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://open.fsc.org/handle/resource/718
dc.titleMotivations, adoption and impact of voluntary environmental certification in the Italian Forest based industry: The case of the FSC standarden
dcterms.accessRightsPublic
dcterms.accessRightsLimited access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationGalati, A., Gianguzzi, G., Tinervia, S., Crescimanno, M., La Mela Veca, D. S., 'Motivations, adoption and impact of voluntary environmental certification in the Italian Forest based industry: Thecase of the FSCstandard',Forest Policy and Economics, 83 (July), 2017, 169-76 pp.en
dcterms.issued2017
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.typeJournal Article
dspace.entity.typePublication
fsc.evidenceCategoryFSC impact-related
fsc.focus.forestTypeNatural Forest
fsc.focus.forestTypePlantation
fsc.focus.forestZoneTemperate
fsc.focus.sustainDimensionEconomic
fsc.issue.economicBenefits, motivations, reasons for certification
fsc.subjectForests
fsc.subjectSelf-regulation
fsc.subjectEnvironmental Policy
fsc.subjectCertification
fsc.subjectFinance
fsc.subjectState
fsc.subjectSupply chain benefits
fsc.subjectEcological Effectiveness
fsc.subjectTransparency
fsc.topic.economicMarket access
is.availability.fullTextFull text available
is.contact.emailantonino.galati@unipa.it
is.contributor.memberForest Stewardship Council
is.coverage.countryItaly
is.coverage.countryAlpha2IT
is.coverage.latitude41.87194
is.coverage.longitude12.56738
is.coverage.regionEurope
is.evaluation.collectionInterviews/surveys
is.evaluation.counterfactsNo
is.evaluation.dataSourceIndependent researcher data
is.evaluation.notesThis study firstly examines the incentives of companies operating in the forest/wood industries in Italia to apply for FSC certification. Secondly, it examines the changes that had to be adopted to meet the requirements and the economic and organization impacts of the certification. The authors conducted a survey among 500 companies, of which only 86 responded, a low response rate that should not be neglected.
is.evaluation.notesThe main motivation for Italian companies to apply for FSC certification appears to be associated with signaling and “demonstrate the company commitment to adopt certification schemes to ensure responsible management of the processes” (FSC is then considered as a “communication tool that helps to improve the corporate image, and then the impression that customers (potential or acquired) have of the company”). Also, moral and market incentives are relevant while legal and learning reasons to get certified are less influential.
is.evaluation.notesHowever, it is important to note that the different categories used to classify the incentives are not mutually exclusive, they are actually overlapping (e.g. signaling cannot be separated to market and moral cannot be separated from legal). Additionally, no statistics are used to detect significant differences in the results between the categories. And the results are not tremendously different (11.5% difference between the most and the least preferred incentives) so it seems difficult to conclude that companies are more motivated to get certified for signaling mechanisms than others.
is.evaluation.notesOne of the main consequences associated with the certification appear to be the need of training of employees to manage internal processes and procedures which implies costs. Also, companies said that they “have had to strengthen previous relationships or have acquired new relationships with new clients”. Also, they “found an improvement of the processes and product management”. Notably, “only 23.3% of the entrepreneurs that we interviewed recorded an increase in selling prices after the adoption of the FSC certification”.
is.evidenceResourceTypePrimary
is.evidenceSubTypeEmpirical study - no control, data collected post-intervention
is.evidenceSummaryThis study uses survey data to examine Forest Stewardship Council certification in the Italian Forest based industry, focusing on motivating factors, as well as economic and organisational results.
is.evidenceTypeEmpirical study
is.focus.productsForestry products
is.focus.sdgSDG 12 - Responsible Production and Consumption
is.focus.sectorsAgriculture
is.focus.sectorsForestry
is.focus.sustainDimensionEconomic
is.focus.sustainIssueConsumers and supply chains
is.focus.sustainIssueParticipant costs and benefits
is.focus.sustainLensFinance
is.focus.sustainLensSupply chain benefits
is.focus.sustainLensTransparency
is.focus.sustainOutcomePrice premiums
is.focus.sustainOutcomeQuality of product
is.focus.sustainOutcomeSales of product
is.focus.sustainOutcomeTraceability
is.focus.systemElementMandE outcomes and impacts
is.focus.systemElementMandE performance monitoring
is.identifier.codeImpacts
is.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2017.08.002
is.identifier.fscdoihttp://dx.doi.org/10.34800/fsc-international700
is.identifier.schemeNameForest Stewardship Council
is.identifier.schemeTypeVoluntary Sustainability Standards
is.item.reviewStatusPeer reviewed
is.journalNameForest Policy and Economics
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