Social & Environmental Impact Collaboration & Co-Creation

How do sustainability systems really make a difference?

Evidence shows that sustainability standards and certification bring positive impacts for people and the environment – but not everywhere, all the time.

Sponsored Content | By ISEAL Alliance | Published 1 month ago | About a 5 minute read

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Many brands have adopted voluntary standards and certification schemes as part of their sustainability efforts, and many consumers look out for their logos and labels on the products they buy. But do these schemes really deliver the environmental and social benefits they promise? Voluntary standards set requirements for businesses to achieve a range of sustainability goals - such as preventing deforestation, ensuring producers receive a fair wage, or improving workers’ health and safety. In theory, if those requirements are met, the impacts should be positive. In practice, however, proving and understanding what drives change in the real world is complex. External factors like volatile food prices can influence or even negate the gains made by farmers through certification. Market incentives may not always cover the costs of switching to more sustainable production practices, and environmental improvements within individual certified farms or forestry concessions don’t necessarily translate into positive outcomes at a landscape scale.

Despite these challenges, it’s important to look at the evidence to understand where and how standards are driving change. There’s a large and growing body of research into the impacts of these schemes. The Evidensia platform hosts hundreds of high-quality scientific studies on the impacts of voluntary sustainability standards - they are significantly more researched than other sustainability tools like company programs, trade mechanisms, or government regulations. Overall, the evidence clearly shows that sustainability standards are driving better outcomes across a range of topics.

Improving Livelihoods

Sustainability standards have been shown to help smallholders achieve higher yields, earn better prices, and increase their incomes. For example, a 2025 study in Ghana found that adopting sustainability standards had a positive impact on cocoa farmers’ net income and yields. This reinforces findings from a systematic review of food supply chain policies that found certification boosted household income for cocoa farmers in southern Ghana, with one study showing a 28% increase from adopting better agricultural practices. The same review found that certified palm oil producers achieved higher yields, leading to increased farm and household incomes. In the cotton sector, a 2022 study showed that Better Cotton is associated with improved prices and lower costs for farmers in Pakistan - supporting a 2019 study that found Better Cotton increased gross margins by 37% and yields by 9%, while reducing the use of fertilizers by 7%, pesticides by 7%, and irrigation by 14%.

Climate, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services

Evidence also shows that certification supports climate action and efforts to conserve and restore nature. A 2024 landmark review cited evidence that certified coffee farmers are more likely to adopt climate-friendly practices that save costs through more efficient use of inputs, and that cocoa certification in Ghana strengthens basic climate-smart farming practices. A global impact review on forest certification found reductions in deforestation in Indonesia and Brazil; higher tree species richness, diversity, and density in Tanzania; and 31% less air pollution in certified concessions in Indonesia. A 2024 paper studying forest certification in Gabon and the Republic of Congo found that certified forests host more large and endangered mammals such as forest elephants and gorillas, while an empirical study from 2021 found certified community forests in Nepal had significantly higher carbon stocks and species richness. A meta-analysis of coffee certification programs also found significant positive impacts on water resources - particularly through wastewater treatment, buffer zones around water sources, and proper pesticide storage - as well as improved soil management, tree coverage, and biodiversity protection. Similarly, a 2020 study of coffee agroforestry systems in Costa Rica found that certified farms generally implemented more conservation practices, better soil and water management, and supported greater biodiversity and ecosystem services than non-certified farms.

Human Rights and Decent Work

Sustainability standards have contributed to better wages and working conditions, particularly on large farms and in cooperatives. For example, a study on pineapple companies in Ghana found that workers at Fairtrade-certified plantations had higher job satisfaction due to higher wages, permanent employment contracts, training opportunities, labor unions, and company services such as medical care and paid leave. A recent systematic review found that supply chain tools such as certification deliver positive decent work outcomes in agriculture, particularly concerning employment terms and worker representation. Standards are also helping address complex societal issues like child labor. A 2021 study in Uganda by Rainforest Alliance and Aidenvironment found that combining certification and quality premiums with farmer training on child labor awareness and agronomy practices can reduce child labor risks.

Systemic Challenges

While research highlighting positive impacts is encouraging, less favorable findings can reveal critical insights. The agriculture sector review mentioned above found that certification mainly benefited qualified male workers, with limited positive effects for women, casual laborers, and smallholders. This indicates that while standards can deliver meaningful improvements, their impact often depends on the context in which they are applied. Complex systemic challenges such as gender inequality or weak regulatory environments can limit effectiveness. To address this, sustainability standards are increasingly looking beyond individual certification schemes to strengthen the broader systems they operate within. Beyond simply setting a standard, they are building capacity and awareness, collaborating to drive improvements across sectors and landscapes, developing new tools, and influencing public and private sector policies. For instance, ISEAL and partners have been exploring opportunities for sustainability systems and their collaborators to take gender-positive action in food systems. The impacts of these broader activities are harder to measure but may ultimately be even more significant.

Benefits for Business

For companies, adopting credible standards - and working with sustainability systems to create systemic change across their supply chains and sectors – can amplify impact. Working with credible standards also helps businesses meet due diligence and regulatory requirements, reduce risk, enhance reputation and market value, and strengthen supply chain relationships. Comprehensive studies have shown that adopting sustainability standards delivers a wide range of both early and long-term benefits at the business, value chain, and sector levels. Of course, sustainability standards are not a silver bullet - achieving large-scale progress requires a smart mix of voluntary and regulatory tools. But the evidence is clear: for businesses that want to have a positive social and environmental impact while strengthening their bottom line, voluntary sustainability standards remain one of the most effective tools available.

Visit Evidensia for reliable research on the impacts of sustainability standards.