Abstract
While many authors have argued that domestic regulatory gaps as well as a lack of international cooperation can at least partly explain the emergence of non-state regulation, this article will focus on an underexplored pathway of emergence linking international, domestic, and non-state regulation. I will argue that even in the presence of a widely supported international agreement, a non-ratifying country can provide the setting for the emergence of non-state certification programs. This will happen when significant domestic legislation on the topics covered by the agreement is absent, and non-state actors are able to act as institutional entrepreneurs with an interest in implementing key elements of this agreement. By tracing the development of certification programs for the electronic waste (e-waste) recycling industry, I will show why the US, more than other countries, provided an enabling environment for the emergence of non-state e-waste recycling certification. The US’s failure to ratify the Basel Convention on transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and an overall lack of domestic legislation on e-waste exports created regulatory gaps that non-state actors were able to fill. The main global watchdog of the Convention—the US-based Basel Action Network—used certification as a forum-shifting strategy to implement key parts of the Convention in the US. Finally, the article will also show that conflicting interests and divergent perspectives on the legitimacy of the Convention and its rules have led to the development of a competing industry-supported certification program.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Author’s interview with a representative of BAN, April 29, 2009.
This is, for example, proposed in the 2011 US National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship. See Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stewardship (2011, pp. 14–15).
Other certified facilities include six in Canada, six in Mexico, four in the UK, four in Australia, two in Costa Rica, two in India, and one in China, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore each.
Three facilities in Mexico, one in Canada and one in the UK are also certified.
A proposal for federal legislation to ban the export of a larger set of e-wastes was only first introduced in Congress in 2009. An amended version was reintroduced in 2011.
At the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in October 2011, parties agreed to a solution as part of a package deal. See International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Reporting Services (2011).
Author’s interview with a representative of the US EPA, February 28, 2008.
ibid.
ibid.
Author’s interview with a representative of an electronics recycling company, February 15, 2008.
Author’s interview with IAER, February 4, 2010.
Author’s interview with a representative of an electronics recycling company, January 25, 2008.
Author’s interview with a representative of the US EPA, January 28, 2010.
Author’s interview with a representative of the US EPA, January 28, 2010; Author’s interview with a representative of BAN, April 29, 2009; Author’s interview with a representative of ISRI, January 26, 2010.
Author’s interview with a representative of BAN, April 29, 2009; Author’s interview with a representative of the US EPA, February 28, 2008.
Abbreviations
- ANAB:
-
American National Standards Institute–American Society for Quality National Accreditation Board
- ANSI:
-
American National Standards Institute
- ASQ:
-
American Society for Quality
- BAN:
-
Basel Action Network
- BVQI:
-
Bureau Veritas Quality International
- CDM:
-
Clean Development Mechanism
- CRT:
-
Cathode ray tube
- CSR:
-
Corporate social responsibility
- EMS:
-
Environmental management system
- EPA:
-
Environmental Protection Agency
- EU:
-
European Union
- e-waste:
-
Electronic waste
- IAER:
-
International Association of Electronics Recyclers
- IAF:
-
International Accreditation Forum
- ILO:
-
International Labour Organization
- ISEAL:
-
International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance
- ISO:
-
International Organization for Standardization
- ISRI:
-
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
- MPPI:
-
Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative
- NEPSI:
-
National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative
- NGO:
-
Non-governmental organization
- OECD:
-
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- R2:
-
Responsible Recycling Practices for Use in Accredited Certification Programs for Electronics Recyclers
- RIOS:
-
Recycling Industry Operating Standard
- US:
-
United States
- WWF:
-
World Wide Fund for Nature
References
Abbott, K. W., & Snidal, D. (2009a). The governance triangle: Regulatory standards institutions and the shadow of the state. In W. Mattli & N. Woods (Eds.), The politics of global regulation (pp. 44–88). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Abbott, K. W., & Snidal, D. (2009b). Strengthening international regulation through transnational new governance: Overcoming the orchestration deficit. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 42(2), 501–578.
Auld, G. (2009). Reversal of fortune: How early choices can alter the logic of market-based authority. Doctoral Dissertation, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Auld, G., Bernstein, S., & Cashore, B. (2008). The new corporate social responsibility. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 33(1), 413–435.
Auld, G., Cashore, B., & Renckens, S. (2013). Governance components in private regulation: Implications for legitimacy, authority and effectiveness. In N. Kanie, S. Andresen, & P. M. Haas (Eds.), Improving global environmental governance: Best practices for architecture and agency. London/New York, NY: Routledge.
Bartley, T. (2003). Certifying forests and factories: States, social movements, and the rise of private regulation in the apparel and forest products fields. Politics & Society, 31(3), 433–464.
Bartley, T. (2007). Institutional emergence in an era of globalization: The rise of transnational private regulation of labor and environmental conditions. American Journal of Sociology, 113(2), 297–351.
Basel Action Network. (2004). The US must ratify the entire Basel Convention (or not at all). http://ban.org/library/briefp2.pdf. Accessed June 7, 2012.
Basel Action Network. (2005a). The digital dump: Exporting re-use and abuse to Africa. http://ban.org/BANreports/10-24-05/documents/TheDigitalDump_Print.pdf. Accessed December 15, 2010.
Basel Action Network. (2005b). E-Stewards initiative and the electronic recycler’s pledge of true stewardship. Frequently asked questions. http://web.archive.org/web/20080705191907/http://ban.org/pledge/faq_pledge.PDF. Accessed January 5, 2012.
Basel Action Network. (2011). Federal e-waste effort gets mixed reaction from environmental coalition. http://www.ban.org/2011/07/20/federal-e-waste-effort-gets-mixed-reaction-from-environmental-coalition/. Accessed June 7, 2012.
Basel Action Network, & Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. (2002). Exporting harm: The high-tech trashing of Asia. http://www.ban.org/E-waste/technotrashfinalcomp.pdf. Accessed November 29, 2008.
Braithwaite, J., & Drahos, P. (2000). Global business regulation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cafaggi, F. (2011). New foundations of transnational private regulation. Journal of Law and Society, 38(1), 20–49.
Cashore, B. (2002). Legitimacy and the privatization of environmental governance: How non-state market-driven (NSMD) governance systems gain rule-making authority. Governance, 15(4), 503–529.
Cerny, P. G. (1995). Globalization and the changing logic of collective action. International Organization, 49(4), 595–625.
Choksi, S. (2001). The Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal: 1999 protocol on liability and compensation. Ecology Law Quarterly, 28(2), 509–540.
Clapp, J. (2001). Toxic exports. The transfer of hazardous wastes from rich to poor countries. Ithaca, NY/London: Cornell University Press.
Conroy, M. E. (2007). Branded! How the ‘certification revolution’ is transforming global corporations. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe. (2007). Hamburg-gate to the world for illegal waste exports. http://web.archive.org/web/20080418194025/http://step-initiative.org/news.php?id=78. Accessed April 25, 2009.
Dimaggio, P. J. (1988). Interest and agency in institutional theory. In L. Zucker (Ed.), Institutional patterns and organizations: Culture and environment (pp. 3–21). Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company.
Drezner, D. W. (2007). All politics is global: Explaining international regulatory regimes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
e-Stewards. (2009). Performance requirements excerpted from the e-Stewards standard for responsible recycling and reuse of electronic equipment. http://e-stewards.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/e-StewardStandard_ExcerptedVersion.pdf. Accessed December 30, 2011.
e-Stewards. (2010a). About us: Background and history. http://e-stewards.org/about/. Accessed December 20, 2010.
e-Stewards. (2010b). e-Stewards certification introduction. http://e-stewards.org/certification-overview/. Accessed December 20, 2010.
e-Stewards. (2010c). e-Stewards countries. http://e-stewards.org/certification-overview/e-stewards-countries/. Accessed December 29, 2012.
e-Stewards. (2010d). Pledge of responsible recycling. http://e-stewards.org/pledge/. Accessed December 20, 2010.
e-Stewards. (2011). e-Stewards pledge program: The predecessor. http://e-stewards.org/certification-overview/e-stewards-pledge-program/. Accessed January 3, 2012.
e-Stewards. (2012a). Find e-Stewards recyclers. http://e-stewards.org/find-a-recycler/. Accessed December 26, 2012.
e-Stewards. (2012b). Leadership Council. http://e-stewards.org/about/leadership-council/. Accessed January 4, 2012.
Electronics TakeBack Coalition. (2011). Brief comparison of state laws on electronics recycling. http://www.electronicstakeback.com/wp-content/uploads/Compare_state_laws_chart.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2012.
European Commission. (2000). Explanatory memorandum. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2000:0347:FIN:EN:PDF. Accessed December 15, 2011.
European Commission. (2008). Commission staff working paper accompanying the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (Recast). Impact assessment. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2008:2933:FIN:EN:PDF. Accessed June 12, 2012.
European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2003). Directive 2002/96/EC of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), Official Journal of the European Union, L37/24.
Fransen, L. (2011). Why do private governance organizations not converge? A political-institutional analysis of transnational labor standards regulation. Governance, 24(2), 359–387.
Gordon, P. J. (2011). Comparisons of e-Stewards and R2: Insights on business and environmental benefits. Technology Forecasters Inc. White Paper. http://www.stateelectronicschallenge.net/pdf/comparison_estewards_R2.pdf. Accessed February 24, 2012.
Green, J. F. (2010). Private actors, public goods: Private authority in global environmental politics. Doctoral Dissertation, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.
Greenpeace. (2011). Guide to greener electronics. Version 17. November 2011. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/greener-guide-nov-2011/guide-to-greener-electronics-nov-2011.pdf. Accessed December 15, 2011.
Grossman, E. (2006). High tech trash. Digital devices, hidden toxics, and human health. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Hall, R. B., & Biersteker, T. J. (2002). The emergence of private authority in the international system. In R. B. Hall & T. J. Biersteker (Eds.), The emergence of private authority in global governance (pp. 3–22). Cambridge: Cambidge University Press.
Haufler, V. (2001). A public role for the private sector: Industry self-regulation in a global economy. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
HessTech. (2009). Industry rules and certifications. http://web.archive.org/web/20080407234538/http://hesstech.com/rules.htm. Accessed January 24, 2010.
Huisman, J., Federico, M., Kuehr, R., Maurer, C., Ogilvie, S., Poll, J., et al. (2007). 2008 Review of Directive 2002/96 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Final report. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/pdf/final_rep_unu.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2012.
Humphreys, D. (1996). Forest politics: The evolution of international cooperation. London: Earthscan.
Iles, A. (2004). Mapping environmental justice in technology flows: Computer waste impacts in Asia. Global Environmental Politics, 4(4), 76–107.
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. (2011). ISRI lauds Obama administration on common-sense steps to shut down bad actors in international recycling of electronics, dismissing calls to ban exports. http://www.isri.org/ISRI/Whats_New/ISRI_Lauds_Obama_Administration_on_Common-Sense_Steps_to_Shut_Down_Bad_Actors_in_Int_l_Recycling.aspx. Accessed June 7, 2012.
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. (2012). About R2/RIOS. http://www.certifymerecycling.org/electronics-recycling/about-r2rios. Accessed January 4, 2012.
Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stewardship. (2011). National strategy for electronics stewardship. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/taskforce/docs/strategy.pdf. Accessed December 17, 2011.
International Association of Electronics Recyclers. (2007a). Certification in the electronics recycling industry. www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/conference/chilcott/cert-present.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2012.
International Association of Electronics Recyclers. (2007b). IAER certification standard. http://web.archive.org/web/20080106121650/www.iaer.org/communications/certification.htm. Accessed November 23, 2011.
International Association of Electronics Recyclers. (2009). IAER certification. http://web.archive.org/web/20090318122159/http://www.iaer.org/communications/cer-list.htm. Accessed January 18, 2010.
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Reporting Services. (2011). Summary of the tenth meeting of the conference of the parties to the Basel Convention: 17–21 October 2011. http://www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/enb2037e.pdf. Accessed October 25, 2011.
ISEAL Alliance. (2010). Setting social and environmental standards v5.0. ISEAL Code of Good Practice. http://www.isealalliance.org/sites/default/files/Standard-Setting-Code-v5.0.pdf. Accessed April 19, 2013.
Knill, C., & Lehmkuhl, D. (2002). Private actors and the state: Internationalization and changing patterns of governance. Governance, 15(1), 41–63.
Levin, K., Cashore, B., & Koppell, J. (2009). Can non-state certification systems bolster state-centered efforts to promote sustainable development through the Clean Development Mechanism? Wake Forest Law Review, 44(3), 777–798.
Matthews, H. S., & Matthews, D. H. (2003). Information technology products and the environment. In R. Kuehr & E. Williams (Eds.), Computers and the environment: Understanding and managing their impacts (pp. 17–39). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Mayer, F., & Gereffi, G. (2010). Regulation and economic globalization: Prospects and limits of private governance. Business & Politics, 12(3), Article 11.
Mobile Phone Working Group. (2006). Basel Convention Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative. Guidance Document on the Environmentally Sound Management of Used and End-Of-Life Mobile Phones. http://www.basel.int/industry/mppi/MPPI%20Guidance%20Document.pdf. Accessed December 23, 2010.
Muscanelli, P. (2004). Certification: Problem or opportunity? Resource Recycling, 23(5), 29–31.
National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative. (2004). Positive end to National Electronics Product Stewardship meeting (Press Release February 13, 2004). http://web.archive.org/web/20090901205032/http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/clean/nepsi/word_docs/Final%20Portland%20Press%20Release.doc. Accessed April 25, 2009.
Ongondo, F. O., Williams, I. D., & Cherrett, T. J. (2011). How are WEEE doing? A gobal review of the management of electrical and electronic wastes. Waste Management, 31(4), 714–730.
O’Rourke, D. (2003). Outsourcing regulation: Analyzing nongovernmental systems of labor standards and monitoring. The Policy Studies Journal, 31(1), 1–29.
Pellow, D. N. (2007). Resisting global toxics. Transnational movements for environmental justice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Potoski, M., & Prakash, A. (2009). A club theory approach to voluntary programs. In M. Potoski & A. Prakash (Eds.), Voluntary programs: A club theory perspective (pp. 17–39). Cambridge, MA/London: MIT Press.
Prakash, A., & Potoski, M. (2006). The voluntary environmentalists. Green clubs, ISO 14001, and voluntary environmental regulations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
R2Solutions. (2008). Responsible Recycling (“R2”) Practices for Use in Accredited Programs for Electronics Recyclers. http://www.r2solutions.org/clientuploads/The%20R2%20Electronics%20Recycling%20Practices%20%2010-30-08%20R2S.pdf. Accessed January 15, 2012.
R2Solutions. (2012a). Electronic recyclers with R2 certified facilities. http://www.r2solutions.org/certified/electronic-recyclers-with-r2-certified-facilities/. Accessed December 26, 2012.
R2Solutions. (2012b). R2 Technical Advisory Committee. http://www.r2solutions.org/about/r2-technical-advisory-committee/. Accessed January 4, 2012.
Renckens, S. (2008). Yes, we will! Voluntarism in U.S. e-waste governance. Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 17(3), 286–299.
Rosenau, J. N. (1995). Governance in the twenty-first century. Global Governance, 1(1), 13–43.
Secretariat of the Basel Convention. (2008). Report on the conference of the parties of the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal on its ninth meeting. http://www.basel.int/meetings/cop/cop9/docs/39e-rep.pdf. Accessed December 20, 2010.
Smith, T., Sonnenfeld, D. A., & Pellow, D. N. (Eds.). (2006). Challenging the chip: Labor rights and environmental justice in the global electronics industry. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Solving the E-Waste Problem. (2012). What is e-waste? http://www.step-initiative.org/index.php/Initiative_WhatIsEwaste.html. Accessed June 12, 2012.
Toxics Link. (2003). Scrapping the hi-tech myth. Computer waste in India. New Delhi: Toxics Link.
United Nations Environment Programme. (2005). E-waste, the hidden side of IT equipment’s manufacturing and use. www.grid.unep.ch/products/3_Reports/ew_ewaste.en.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2012.
US Environmental Protection Agency. (2011a). Export requirements for cathode ray tubes. http://www.epa.gov/wastes/hazard/international/crts/index.htm. Accessed December 31, 2011.
US Environmental Protection Agency. (2011b). Municipal solid waste generation, recycling, and disposal in the United States. Tables and Figures for 2010. http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/2010_MSW_Tables_and_Figures_508.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2012.
US Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Basel Convention. http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/international/basel.htm. Accessed June 6, 2012.
US Government Accountability Office. (2008). Electronic waste. EPA needs to better control harmful U.S. exports through stronger enforcement and more comprehensive regulation. http://www.gao.gov/assets/280/279792.pdf. Accessed December 29, 2008.
US Government Accountability Office. (2010). Electronic waste: Considerations for promoting environmentally sound reuse and recycling. http://www.gao.gov/assets/310/307013.pdf. Accessed November 21, 2010.
Vogel, D. (2008). Private global business regulation. Annual Review of Political Science, 11, 261–282.
Vogel, D. (2009). The private regulation of global corporate conduct. In W. Mattli & N. Woods (Eds.), The politics of global regulation. Princeton, NJ/Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Widmer, R., Oswald-Krapf, H., Sinha-Khetriwal, D., Schnellmann, M., & Boni, H. (2005). Global perspectives on e-waste. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 25(5), 436–458.
Wright, R. (2007). The RoHS and WEEE Directives: An update on environmental requirements affecting the electrical and electronic products sector. Environmental Quality Management, 17(2), 37–44.
Wuttke, J. (2006). Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative Project 2.1. Chairman’s paper on issues raised during the discussion of the guideline on transboundary movement of used and end-of-life mobile phones. http://www.basel.int/convention/communications/080507.pdf. Accessed December 23, 2010.
Acknowledgments
The author gratefully acknowledges financial support from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF). The author would also like to thank Graeme Auld, Hans Bruyninckx, Tim Büthe, Benjamin Cashore, Jessica Green, Cory McCruden, Michael Stone, and David Vogel as well as the anonymous reviewers and the editor of International Environmental Agreements for constructive comments on earlier versions of this article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Renckens, S. The Basel Convention, US politics, and the emergence of non-state e-waste recycling certification. Int Environ Agreements 15, 141–158 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-013-9220-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-013-9220-7