Let’s Bargain! Setting Standards of Sustainable Biofuels

Contributing to a critical re-examination of multi-stakeholder governance, this chapter conducts an in-depth analysis of business-civil society interaction in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB). Inquiring into the causes of a deliberation failure, the chapter identifies a high level of politicization as well as the background role of the state as the underlying factors. It is uncovered how deep-seated divisions and ideologically charged conflicts limited the opportunity for meaningful deliberative governance in the biofuels arena. In addition, it is shown how the European Union undermined the position of the RSB through endorsing a non-participatory model of private sustainability governance in this policy area. This reduced the pressure on biofuel companies to engage in difficult interactions with critical NGOs in the RSB.