A Comparative Case Study on the Proliferation of Private Sustainability Ecolabels across Regions(Fostering Joint International Research)

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16KK0080
Research Category	Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Food Cycle Research
Research Institution	Nagoya University (2022) Osaka University (2016-2017)
Principal Investigator	Naiki Yoshiko 名古屋大学, 環境学研究科, 教授 (90313064)
Project Period (FY)	2017 – 2022
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
Budget Amount *help	¥13,520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥10,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,120,000)
Keywords	持続可能性 / EU / IUU漁業 / パーム油 / ESG投資 / エコラベル / 認証制度 / 私的権威 / 漁業 / SDGs / 認証 / サプライチェーン
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study addressed a research question of how private certification and ecolabelling systems, originated from Europe, will diffuse and can be adopted by Asian countries, with a focus on sustainable seafood. Existing literature already raised several factors for the uptake of certifications/ecolabels, such as, inputs of the systems (governance, decision-making procedures, standard stringency), demands from retailers in importing countries, and institutional conditions in suppliers' countries. This research focused on two additional factors, that is, the EU's regulatory power in IUU fishing, and sustainable finance/ESG investment in the seafood sector. By focusing on the first factor, this research attempted to contribute to the "Brussels Effect" literature. The study found that the EU's regulatory influence to bring national legal changes in Asian fishing countries was based on the EU's soft power of "expertise," "monitoring," and "agenda-setting."
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	近年、SDGsの実施や持続可能なサプライチェーンが着目されるなかで、本研究は持続可能な水産物の分野における認証・エコラベル制度がアジアでどのような要因で普及しているか、という問いを扱った。EUの規制パワーが、アジアの漁業国の国内制度改革を後押しをする形で、持続可能な水産物に対する理解がアジアに広がるプロセスを分析した点において学術的意義がある。また本研究では、アジアにおけるサステナブルファイナンス・ESG投資の拡大にも着目したが、こうした動きは今後、日本の漁業・水産物セクターにも影響を与える可能性があり、この点において社会的意義がある。