Many of the world’s leading certification standards are not only failing to improve the ethical conduct of large corporations but are serving to entrench abusive business practices, a damning new report argues.

The study of 40 global voluntary initiatives [...] identifies multiple failures in what it refers to as a “grand experiment” in corporate accountability...

According to Evans, multi-stakeholder initiatives have a “tricky relationship” with governments, which frequently interpret their existence as evidence that abuses are being “taken care of”...

The “multi-stakeholder” element of these initiatives derives from participation of civil society organisations, government agencies and other groups. While cross-sector dialogue is generally positive, MSI concedes, most initiatives tend to be heavily skewed towards corporate interests...

The frequent absence of victims’ voice speaks to a wider concern about the use of certification schemes and similar voluntary standards to stall progress on human rights and safeguard the status quo...

The contrast with initiatives designed by rights holders is clear...