Can Small be Sustainable? Reaching Smallholders with Sustainability Initiatives in Argentina, Brazil, and the United States

Standards for sustainability in bioenergy feedstock production and other intensive production practices have been elevated in recent years due to a combination of NGO campaigns, consumer demand, and the presence of third-party sustainability schemes. However, both international “responsible production” campaigns and third-party certification organizations chiefly target large producers, potentially overlooking the sustainability of production practices among smallholders. In this presentation we explore and compare various policy tools from Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. designed to engage smallholders in sustainable production. In Brazil we examine the Social Fuel Seal, in which a public-private partnership between the government and biodiesel producers seeks to ensure smallholder participation in the biodiesel market. In Argentina we examine smallholder inclusion provisions in biofuel production policy and in policies promoting the production of quality wood products (the byproducts of which may be available as bioenergy feedstocks). In the U.S. we examine how the state of Wisconsin has enrolled smallholders in group sustainability certification and consequently developed biomass harvesting guidelines applicable to those lands. We consider the effectiveness of these policy tools as they intersect with state capacity and opportunities for sustainability certification. We also consider the limitations of these tools in “scaling up” smallholders to better participate in state and nonstate sustainability initiatives.