Turned Inside Out: the Rise of Private, Networked, Data-Centric Governance by Niklas Adam Lollo a Dissertation Submitted in Pa
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Turned Inside Out: The Rise of Private, Networked, Data-Centric Governance by Niklas Adam Lollo A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources and the Designated Emphasis in Science and Technology Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Dara O’Rourke, Chair Professor Massimo Mazzotti Professor David Anthoff Summer 2020 Copyright 2020 By Niklas Lollo Abstract Turned Inside Out: The Rise of Private, Networked, Data-Centric Governance by Niklas Adam Lollo Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources Designated Emphasis in Science and Technology Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Dara O’Rourke, Chair The pursuit of more sustainable consumption and production of consumer goods has taken an inside-out turn. Instead of external stakeholders devising carrot-and-stick methods of influence, industry players like brands, retailers, and platforms are increasingly finding value in sustainability governance. Able to collect data streams inaccessible to stakeholders, with the market power to implement rapid changes transnationally, and guided by a vision of Industry 4.0, there has been renewed hope in private solutions to public issues. Firms are arguing that they can leverage their considerable power to achieve what NGOs and governments have struggled to achieve in thirty or so years: comparable and actionable data, market transparency, supply chain and product innovation, and enforcement of labor and environmental standards. Using interdisciplinary methods and novel empirical research, I describe and assess the emerging phenomenon of private, networked, data-centric governance (PNDG). First, I present a literature review of sustainable consumption. I demonstrate that the potential impact of so-called citizen consumption is extraordinarily limited, and argue that structural policies and politics are more likely to yield the necessary transformative change. My empirical work, in turn, focuses on production networks. In chapter three, through data analysis, surveys, and case studies, I examine the Higg Index, an apparel-industry wide initiative to collect and utilize environmental and social data. I find that after ten years, the Higg Index is a scale without a diet—it solves a number of measurement issues, but fails to address root issues of incentives and transparency. In chapter four, I perform a primarily econometric analysis of an intervention in a Thai clothing factory. My analysis demonstrates factory worker compensation formulas can incent higher productivity through higher wages, thereby showing a financially viable path towards living wages. And yet, the project highlights limitations on potential gains absent further external pressure by organized labor, NGOs, governments, or consumers. By offering novel empirical insights, as well as describing the phenomenon of PNDG, my findings inform ongoing policy debates, industry investments, and stakeholder projects. While PNDG holds promise, it needs to be complemented with more external accountability mechanisms that promote stronger incentives. 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Faith in Markets: The Conceit of the Citizen Consumer ................................................ 2 1.2. Taking Over: Corporations Turn Governance Inside Out .............................................. 4 1.3. Industry 4.0: Value in Sustainability Data ...................................................................... 7 1.4. A New Era of Private, Networked, Data-Centric Governance ..................................... 10 2. Sustainable Consumption: Literature Review ................................................................. 12 2.1. The Consumption-Sustainability Dilemma ................................................................... 12 2.2. Sustainable Consumption as Decoupling...................................................................... 13 2.3. The Limits of Weak Sustainable Consumption ............................................................ 15 2.4. From Individual to Structural Change .......................................................................... 19 2.5. Achieving System Change ............................................................................................ 26 2.6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 31 3. Sustainable Production: Measurement Without Incentives ........................................... 32 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 32 3.2. Project Context and Research Design ........................................................................... 34 3.3. Assessment & Discussion ............................................................................................. 40 3.4. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 57 3.5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 59 4. Sustainable Production: Paying Workers More .............................................................. 61 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 61 4.2. Quasi-Experimental Details .......................................................................................... 65 4.3. Results & Discussion .................................................................................................... 71 4.4. Summary ....................................................................................................................... 81 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 82 6. References ............................................................................................................................ 85 7. Appendix A: Supporting Information for Chapter Four .............................................. 110 i List of Figures Figure 3-1: FEM modules posted by year. .................................................................................... 41 Figure 3-2: FEM 2.0 assessments by country. .............................................................................. 42 Figure 3-3: Survey results for: Has the FEM improved communications with your key customers?..................................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 3-4: Survey results for: How would you characterize your sustainability communications with your key customers? ............................................................................................................. 44 Figure 3-5: Survey results for: Do you know how your FEM scores compares to similar facilities? ....................................................................................................................................... 45 Figure 3-6: Violin plot of FEM 2.0 total score by year. ............................................................... 46 Figure 3-7: Violin plot of FEM 2.0 tier score by year. ................................................................. 47 Figure 3-8: Violin plot comparing facilities that had both verified and self-assessed scores. ...... 48 Figure 3-9: Survey results for: Which parts of the FEM have you found helpful? ...................... 49 Figure 3-10: Survey results for: Have your customers helped improve your FEM performance?50 Figure 3-11: Survey results for: Are you a member of any of the following programs? ............. 50 Figure 3-12: Survey results for: Why do you use other EMS systems besides the FEM? ........... 51 Figure 3-13: Survey results for: Has better environmental management improved your facility's profits? .......................................................................................................................................... 52 Figure 3-14: Survey results for: Does environmental management help you out-compete other facilities for contracts? .................................................................................................................. 52 Figure 3-15: Survey results for: Have you received ore or fewer orders due to your FEM performance? ................................................................................................................................. 52 Figure 3-16: Survey results for: What changes have you made since assessing your facility with the FEM? ....................................................................................................................................... 54 Figure 3-17: Survey results for: Did the FEM process help you identify any specific areas for improvement that you did not already know about? ..................................................................... 54 Figure 3-18: Environmental Data Variation by Facility Type (2013-2016). ................................ 56 Figure 4-1: The production schematic for one business unit. ....................................................... 66 Figure 4-2: Change in daily productivity between pre-treatment