BALANSGÅNGEN MELLAN LEGITIMITET OCH INCITAMENT - EN FALLSTUDIE OM BRANSCHUTVECKLADE MILJÖCERTIFIERINGAR

Abstract

A growing number of organizations have begun to realize that it can pay to be green and that certification systems and labels can be a powerful tool for organizations in communicating with environmentally aware consumers. Many existing certification systems are primarily aimed at large organizations, which may lead smaller organizations in niche markets to attempt designing their own certifications. This study seeks to explain how such a certification should be designed in order to achieve legitimacy in the eyes of industry stakeholders, and what incentives individual organizations believe are necessary in order to undergo the certification process. By conducting a case study based on in-depth interviews with member organizations of the Swedish Ski Area Association, which currently considers developing their own certification, the incentives that motivates the industry to join such a certification emerged. In addition to this, environmental certification experts were interviewed in order to outline how the certification system can achieve legitimacy. The study concludes that an industry-developed certification should be viewed as a last resort, and that industries primarily should consider adopting well-established third party certifications instead. If an industry certification after all is to be developed, it is essential that transparency permeates all parts of the system. The current situation of the industry members directs what is necessary to include to ensure motivation, which in turn affects how to design criterias, transparency, communication and control systems as to achieve legitimacy. To find this balance, extensive pre-studies need to be carried out and deriving from these, a certification system can be designed, which is considered legitimate as well as attractive for industry members to join. If a balance between these two aspects is unattainable, the industry should consider to abstain from developing their own certification.