Inner Bark: A Look at Sustainability Certifications
The Bark community is invited to learn about and discuss “eco-labels” as an approach to improving sustainability.
The first part of the event will be a presentation. We will focus on three sets of questions: First, how do sustainability certifications work: Who sets the standards? What makes an eco-label credible? What is the difference between fair trade certified and organic? What are the certifications for timber products? Second, to what extent do certifications work: Who wins and who loses? What are the unintended negative consequences? How do they impact government initiatives with similar goals? Third, what next? How can conservationists, businesses, communities, and consumers engage sustainability certifications in ways that maximize their potential? Who can improve them and how?
The second part of the event will be a discussion. All perspectives, ideas, and values are welcome! We will learn by listening to others and being curious about alternative ways of thinking.
This event will be hosted at Bark’s Office at 351 NE 18th Avenue, Portland, OR. 97232. Gender-neutral restrooms will be available.
The presentation and conversation will be led by Dr. Elizabeth A. Bennett, who is the Joseph M. Ha Associate Professor of International Affairs and Director of Political Economy at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Bennett’s work focuses on how non-governmental groups (such as non-profits, businesses, and consumers) try to make supply chains more sustainable and fair. Her research focuses on fair trade, sustainability certifications, and social enterprises. Her field research examines coffee in Latin America, cannabis in the Pacific Northwest, and clothing from over the world. She has lived in Portland for ten years and once protested city forestry policies by sitting in a 100-year-old Doug Fir tree to prevent its removal for development.
Dr Bennett is the author of many articles, essays, and research reports, including The Civic Imagination, a book on civic engagement in America. She is a member of the Academic Advisory Council to the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards and the standards committee of the Global Organic Textile Standard. She holds a PhD in political science from Brown University and recently held fellowships at Harvard and Rutgers Universities.
Profit-sharing (a new business model) in supply chains:
· Magazine article (more accessible): here
· Academic journal (more technical): here
Consumer activism (fair trade and voting with your dollar):
· Essay (more accessible): here
· Book chapter on fair trade (more technical): here