Environmental Certification vs. COVID-19

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in March, many entities have had to adjust to remote working as well as to relearn how to function using the limited resources available to employees at home. For organizations that manage sustainability certification standards related to land and forests, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and Rainforest Alliance (RA), the transition has been especially tricky due to the in-person nature of auditing work. Technology has been central to the continuity of environmental certification, auditing, and communication within these organizations’ teams and between the organizations and their clients. While some sustainability certification organizations and businesses are still struggling to integrate technology as part of their process, others have noticed that the shift to technology has made some aspects of their work more efficient. Our research is based on interviews we have conducted before and after the virus outbreak and looks into how the industry of sustainability certification has adjusted to the ongoing pandemic, and how the Coronavirus challenged sustainability certification organizations to create new and perhaps more efficient strategies they might continue using even after the end of the pandemic.