Voluntary sustainability standards, employee ownership, and the sustainable development goals: can VSS leverage EO to accelerate progress towards the SDGs?

Elizabeth A. Bennett

International Review of Applied Economics, 2025, vol. 39, issue 4-5, 731-749

Abstract: Employee ownership (EO), broadly defined, refers to business models that distribute power and/or profit more widely than conventional firms. EO aims to foster a more equitable distribution of income and wealth. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 social, economic, and environmental objectives. In 2015, all 193 United Nations member countries agreed to work towards achieving the SDGs by 2030. This article explores the connection between EO and the SDGs It addresses two questions: 1) Could the benefits of EO support the SDGs, and if so, which specific targets? 2) Is EO promoted by voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), also known as ‘sustainability certifications’ or ‘eco-labels’ (e.g. Fairtrade)? This study suggests that EO has the potential to support the implementation of five SDGs. More specifically, the benefits of EO may catalyse progress towards nine targets, none of which is currently on track for achievement by 2030. This study also finds that only 26% of VSS organisations encourage companies to engage in or support EO. Removing the two VSS that focus specifically on fair trade, this figure falls to 18%. Overall, this article suggests that employee ownership may be an underutilised tool for accelerating progress towards the UN SDGs.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/02692171.2024.2433459

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