Making supply networks more sustainable ‘together’: the role of meta-organisations

We investigate the role of multi-stakeholder meta-organisations (MO) in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Through an exploratory case study on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), we contribute to extant SSCM literature by highlighting how sustainability principles emerge in a collective space (roundtable) and then are diffused along and across palm oil supply network, involving direct actors in the palm oil supply network, such as producers and traders, but also manufacturing companies from several industries and sectors. The presence of an MO in the supply chain may change the environment for its members, creating a space for collective action and cooperation. However, some bias in the MO’s governance and decision-making mechanism may limit the positive contribution to SSCM.