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Short abstract:

By conceptualizing palm oil sustainability standards as a 'technology of governance', contradictions between how standards are created and implemented, and the capabilities and needs of small farmers, are revealed. A counter-factual analysis shows ways in which a just transition can be achieved.

Long abstract:

Palm oil is an important cash crop for rural communities in tropical climate zones. Since the early 2000s, there has been a movement to develop and implement voluntary sustainability standards for palm oil production, notably through the creation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). However, small farmers in particular have faced challenges in implementing RSPO standards, and different approaches have been tried to overcome barriers to adoption. This paper conceptualizes sustainability standards as a ‘technology of governance’ in the Foucauldian sense, and by combining Actor-Network Theory and Diffusion of Innovation Theory, analyzes efforts sponsored by a large multinational corporation to implement sustainable palm oil standards among small farmers in Johor, Malaysia to support their inclusion in global supply chains. The analysis highlights the contradictions between how palm oil standards are created and implemented, and the capabilities and needs of small farmers. The analysis suggests that the sustainability certification requirements place small farmers at a structural disadvantage and provide insufficient economic returns to cover certification costs. This inhibits the diffusion of certification among small farmers and hinders a 'just transition' in the palm oil sector. A counterfactual analysis of a sustainability standard that is co-created by small farmers provides a direction for the improvement and design of sustainability standards in order to facilitate a just transition.