[Updated] Are Voluntary Standards and Certifications Becoming Redundant?

Voluntary certifications like Rainforest Alliance , the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) , and B-Corp (by B Lab ) were once the gold standard for businesses looking to showcase their commitment to sustainability. These certifications, however, are not free to sign up for nor uncomplicated in terms of due diligence to receive; and as such companies invest significant resources in fees, audits, and operational adjustments to meet their criteria.

With governments increasingly stepping in to enforce mandatory sustainability regulations across the globe that aim to ‘raise the floor’ of ESG reporting and standards, businesses are faced with a pressing question: Why pay for voluntary certification when regulations now demand compliance that exceeds these standards?

💸 The Financial Burden of Voluntary Certifications

Certifying to a voluntary standard is not an insignificant expense:

• Rainforest Alliance: Certification costs vary, but they include annual audit fees, the cost of implementing required standards, and often group-level fees for smallholders. For larger producers, these can amount to tens of thousands of dollars annually.
• RSPO: Membership fees start at €2,000 annually for companies with revenue under €5 million, but implementation, audits, and reporting costs can increase this substantially.
• B-Corp: Certification fees alone range from $1,000 to $50,000 annually, depending on the company’s revenue. Add to this the internal cost of meeting B-Corp standards, which often requires dedicated personnel and process overhauls.

For businesses, these expenses only make sense if the certification adds tangible value — and one has to ask where the value is in only meeting these new stringent regulatory requirements?

👮 Mandatory Regulations Raising 'The Floor'

Governments are now enforcing mandatory sustainability regulations that often meet or exceed the benchmarks set by voluntary standards. Examples include:

• The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): Requires businesses to provide verifiable evidence that their supply chains are deforestation-free and that in-scope goods are produced legally.
• German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act: Mandates that companies assess and mitigate environmental and human rights risks in their supply chains, with penalties for non-compliance.

Unlike voluntary standards and certification schemes, these regulations are not optional—they are legally binding. 

For businesses, this raises an important question: If compliance with mandatory regulations is already required, does a voluntary certification offer enough additional value to justify the cost?

🤷 What Additional Value Do Voluntary Certifications Offer?

Proponents of voluntary certifications argue that they can still provide:

1. Market Differentiation: Certification logos like B-Corp or RSPO may still hold sway with consumers and investors, signalling a commitment to sustainability that goes beyond legal requirements.
2. Ethical Leadership: Voluntary standards can help companies position themselves as sustainability leaders by adopting practices that exceed regulatory requirements.
3. Future-Proofing: Staying ahead of evolving regulations by adhering to –in some cases– higher standards now could reduce the need for costly adjustments later.

📉 Why This Value Is Diminishing

Despite these potential benefits, the value proposition of voluntary certifications is rapidly shrinking:

• Regulations Already Exceed Many Standards: Mandatory frameworks like the EUDR are more rigorous, measurable, and enforceable than most voluntary standards. Compliance with the law alone now meets (or, in some cases, exceed!) what many certifications require.
• Cost vs. Benefit: For businesses already investing in compliance with mandatory regulations, the additional expense of a certification must feel increasingly redundant.
• Consumer Scepticism: Scandals and exposés have eroded trust in some certifications bodies, making their logos less effective as a marketing tool.
• Technology Makes Compliance Transparent: Mandatory government regulations are increasingly backed by technologies like satellite monitoring, blockchain, and AI, providing verifiable proof of sustainability. This reduces the need for a certification body to “vouch” for a business’s practices.

🇧🇷 Case in Point: Brazilian Soy and the EUDR

One of the clearest examples of the shortcomings of voluntary certifications comes from Earthsight’s investigation into the soy supply chain in Brazil. The report linked major soy producers like Mizote Group and Fanciosi Agro—both certified by the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS)—to widespread illegal deforestation, land grabbing, and human rights abuses in the Cerrado, one of the world’s most biodiverse biomes.

The Cerrado has already lost half its native vegetation, with soy expansion identified as a leading cause. In 2023 alone, deforestation rates in the Cerrado surged by 43%, releasing carbon emissions equivalent to those of 50 million cars annually. This rapid destruction undermines global climate goals and drives species extinction.

Key Findings from the Investigation:

👎 Deforestation in Certified Areas

Despite holding RTRS certifications, both Mizote and Franciosi Agro were found to have cleared thousands of hectares of native vegetation, including legally protected forests, after the EUDR’s December 2020 deforestation cut-off date.

• Mizote Group: Cleared over 23,000 hectares of Cerrado vegetation since January 2021, including forests classified as protected under the EU Observatory. This includes deforestation on its Barra Velha farm, where only part of the land clearance had the required permits
• Franciosi Agro: Cleared over 5,000 hectares of vegetation on its Santa Isabel farm complex, exceeding authorized limits and violating the Brazilian Forest Code .

🧑⚖️ Green Land Grabbing and Misuse of Legal Reserves

Both producers exploited loopholes in Brazil’s Forest Code by shifting conservation obligations to distant areas, allowing them to deforest pristine land on their farms. For example, Franciosi Agro allocated its legal reserves 200 kilometers away from the deforested sites, effectively enabling further deforestation while claiming to contribute to conservation .

📑 Certification Failure

The RTRS certification failed to prevent these abuses. Despite being suspended after the Earthsight investigation, the damage had already been done. This case demonstrates how voluntary certifications can be used to whitewash unsustainable practices rather than uphold environmental and ethical standards.

Implications for Businesses and Policymakers

The Earthsight case study exposes the urgent need for businesses to transition from reliance on voluntary certifications to compliance with mandatory regulations like the EUDR. It also highlights the importance of investing in technologies—such as satellite monitoring, AI-driven analytics, and blockchain traceability—to ensure ethical and sustainable supply chains.

For policymakers, this case reinforces the necessity of strict enforcement of the EUDR and the expansion of its scope to include other critical biomes like the Cerrado. Without such measures, European consumption will continue to drive deforestation and exacerbate global climate and biodiversity crises.

🤷♂️ So, Are Voluntary Certifications Becoming Obsolete?

The rise of mandatory, enforceable –often stringent– sustainability regulations challenge the very foundation of voluntary certifications and standard schemes. When governments raise the floor to meet or exceed voluntary standards and enforce compliance with penalties, businesses must ask:

• What additional value does certification bring, beyond what is legally required?
• Is the cost of certification worth the return on investment?

For many businesses that I speak to, the answer is increasingly “no.” 

While voluntary standards played an important role in the past, I am afraid to say that their relevance is fading as regulations take their place as the primary benchmark for sustainability.

What do you think:

Is there still a place for voluntary certifications in today’s regulatory landscape, or has the floor been raised such to render them broadly redundant? Or have I missed something critical that underlies the value-add of standard bodies and certification schemes? Let me know!        

#Sustainability #Compliance #Deforestation #RemoteSensing #OpenAtlas #ESG #BCorp #SupplyChain