Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains
Sustainable Global Supply Chains Report 2022
Global supply chains affect the economy, the environment and social welfare in many ways. Worldwide, economies are experiencing global supply shortages today, affecting key industries such as automotive and consumer electronics as well as vaccine and medical supplies industries. These preoccupy policymakers, who are debating independent national production capacities and restrictions on international trade, but also large companies, which consider reshoring production and abandoning just-in-time procurement. At the same time, the greening of the global economy requires a restructuring of global production to massively decrease its environmental footprint. This creates new supply chain challenges – how to move towards circular economies and how to reorient energy-intensive industries towards renewables and green hydrogen, for example. And let‘s not forget: Consumers are increasingly demanding higher social and environmental standards. Transparency requirements and binding due diligence obligations will in particular affect countries that export raw materials and labour-intensive goods produced under problematic environmental and social conditions.
All of this calls for policies that shape global supply chains in accordance with globally agreed social and environmental objectives. Policies along these lines will have to balance the legitimate interests of different countries and they may easily fail to achieve their objectives unless they are firmly grounded in a thorough understanding of the respective structures in supply chains, including the power relations between the actors. Further, the economic, social and environmental effects of alternative policy options need to be well understood. Science can make an important contribution here, especially if it maintains a constant dialogue with politics and society.
This is why the international “Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains” was initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It currently comprises about 100 internationally leading scientists from all over the world and is jointly coordinated by our four institutes. Its tasks are: To conduct and stimulate research that contributes to making supply chains more sustainable; and to collect and synthesize the best international research on this topic and make it accessible to policy makers and other societal actors. In addition to its own research, the network organises academic conferences and discussions with policymakers, organises a blog and produces podcasts. With this report – the first in a new annual series – we present new research highlights, provide a forum to debate controversial supply chain topics and identify policy-relevant research gaps for the network‘s future work. The report is, at the same time, an invitation to participate in the discussions on how investment, production and trade will be reorganized in a global economy that has to respond to geopolitical challenges.
Download the full report here:
Contributors from our Network

Tilman Altenburg
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Tilman Altenburg leads the research programme “Transformation of Economic and Social Systems” at German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). He received his doctorate in Economic Geography in 1991. Tilman has done empirical research on economic development in Latin America, Asia and Africa, with a focus on competitiveness, industrial and innovation policy, and value chains. His main theme is how developing countries can design economic policies that enable them to improve their position in the global economy in a way that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. Currently, he is coordinating research projects on green industrial policy in developing countries and on structural change in Africa.
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Jann Lay
German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
Jann Lay is Head of the Research Programme “Growth and Development” at the GIGA German Institute for Global and Area Studies, Hamburg (www.giga-hamburg.de). As adjunct professor, he also teaches development economics at the University of Goettingen. His work is on various facets of economic development in the Global South, in particular in Africa, including on (informal) employment and labour market, the impacts of commercial agricultural expansion, environment-development linkages, as well as issues related to energy, climate and development (see www.giga-hamburg.de/de/team/lay).
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Günther Maihold
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Günther Maihold has been the Deputy Director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) since 2004. Coming from a background of Political Science and Sociology, Prof Maihold received his doctorate in 1987 from the University of Regensburg, where he subsequently worked as a Research Fellow. After having spent eight years as project manager in social policy consulting in Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, as well as the Department for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, he was appointed Director of the Ibero-American Institute of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin. Günther Maihold was a lecturer at the University / GH Duisburg and at the Latin American Institute of the Free University of Berlin. Since November 2006, he has been an Honorary Professor in Political Science at the Free University of Berlin
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Melanie Müller
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Melanie Müller is a Senior Associate with a focus on Southern Africa at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP) in Berlin and head of the research project „Approaches for Transnational Governance of Sustainable Commodity Supply Chains”. Melanie Müller has conducted research in various countries of the SADC region as well as in Ghana and Niger and published on the political and socioeconomic developments in Southern Africa, as well as on migration and on resource governance. Before joining SWP in 2017, she worked as a research associate and lecturer at Free University of Berlin and as a consultant for public and private actors with a focus on resource governance. She wrote her PhD about the impact of international conferences on local political actors with a focus on the UNFCCC conference in Durban/South Africa.
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Rainer Thiele
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Rainer Thiele is director of the Kiel Africa Initiative and the Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network (PEGNet) at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and adjunct professor at Kiel University. His current research focusses on the allocation and effectiveness of foreign aid an on issues related to rural development in Africa such as food security and the impact of large-scale land investments.
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Frauke Steglich
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Frauke Steglich is a Researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Managing Director of the Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network (PEGNet) at IfW, and Research Fellow at the Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG). Her research interests lie in the field of empirical international economics and development, with a focus on foreign direct investment, global value chains, and corporate social responsibility.
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Inga Carry
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Inga Carry is a Research Assistant in the “Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains” project at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). Her research focuses primarily on environmental crime, resource conflicts, and security policy. She previously worked as a researcher for the trilateral environmental organization EcoPeace Middle East assessing the impact of climate change on social and political stability in the Middle East. Inga Carry holds a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies.
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Gideon Ndubuisi
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Gideon Ndubuisi is a Research Economist at the German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). He has a BSc. in Economics from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (Nigeria), MSc. in Economics and Institutions from Philipps-University Marburg (Germany), and PhD in Economics from Maastricht University (Netherlands). Gideon has worked and consulted for different institutions such as the German Institute for Economic Research (Germany), Institute for World Economy (Germany), European Center for Economic Research (Germany), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Austria), World Bank (USA), UNU-MERIT (Netherland), African Development Bank (Côte d'Ivoire), European Commission (Belgium), and NODAC Consulting (Nigeria). His primary research interests include Global Value Chains and Trade, Institutions, Tax Morale, Environment and Clean Energy Market, and Firm Performance and Structural Transformation.
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Markus Krajewski
University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
Prof. Dr. Markus Krajewski is University Professor at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and holds the Chair in Public Law and Public International Law. Prof. Krajewski is one of the programme directors of the MA in Human Rights and chairperson of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg (CHREN). He also chairs the Board of Trustees of the German Institute for Human Rights and is Secretary-General of the German Branch of the International Law Association. Prof. Krajewski teaches German constitutional and administrative law, European law, public international law and human rights. His research focusses on international economic law, human rights, European external relations and the law of public services. He wrote four books and authored numerous contributions in scholarly journals and edited volumes including the European Yearbook of International Economic Law (EYIEL). He advises international governmental and non-governmental organisations on European and international economic law and acted as consultant in different development cooperation projects.
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Clara Brandi
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Clara Brandi is Head of the Research Programme “Transformations of Economic and Social Systems” at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). She holds a PhD from the European University Institute, a Master’s degree from the University of Oxford (MPhil in Politics) and a Master’s degree in economics from the University of Freiburg, where she received the Hayek Award. Clara Brandi works on global governance and sustainable development, with a focus in the interplay between trade and the environment, paying particular attention to developing countries and emerging markets. Her current research includes a focus on voluntary sustainability standards and the drivers and effects of including non-economic issues in international trade agreements. Clara Brandi provides policy-advice at the national and the international level. She teaches at the University of Duisburg-Essen and at the University of Bonn.
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Robert B. Koopman
World Trade Organization
Robert B. Koopman serves as the Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division at the World Trade Organization. In this post, Bob provides the Secretariat and Member Countries with analysis and information that promotes a deeper understanding of trade and trade policy's role in economic growth and development. Prior to this he oversaw the United States International Trade Commission’s trade policy research and negotiation assistance to the President, the U.S. Trade Representative, and Congress. Bob previously taught international trade, applied international trade, advanced international trade, and trade and economic development in the Economics Department at Georgetown University, in Washington DC. His research interests include measuring the economic effects of trade and trade policy changes, measuring global value chains, and the application and validation of large scale economic simulation models.
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Rasmus Lema
Aalborg University
Rasmus Lema is an Associate Professor at Aalborg University Business School. He obtained his DPhil degree from the Institute of Development studies at the University of Sussex. His areas of specialization are global value chains, innovation systems and low carbon innovation.
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Carlo Pietrobelli
Uni Roma Tre
Carlo Pietrobelli is a professor and policy advisor with over 30 years of experience on innovation and industrial development and policy. He is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Roma Tre, Italy, Professorial Fellow at UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Washington D.C.. He was Lead Economist at the Inter-American Development Bank (November 2009-November 2016), where he was in charge of designing and managing programs to promote competitiveness and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. His activities included: cluster and value chain programs, the impact evaluation of such programs, innovation and industrial policies, support to Competitiveness and Innovation Councils, programs for local economic development, productive corridors, programs and institutions to support technology transfer and small and medium-sized enterprises development.
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Roberta Rabellotti
Department of Political and Social Sciences at the Università di Pavia
Roberta Rabellotti is Full Professor of Economics at the Università di Pavia, Italy. She has got a Master of Science in Development Economics at the University of Oxford and a Doctor of Philosophy at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. She specializes in the analysis of the industrial sector in developing countries. Her areas of interest are: industrial policies, small business promotion, international trade policies, industrial districts and clusters, global value chains.
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Lindsay Whitfield
Copenhagen Business School
Lindsay Whitfield is Professor Business and Development at the Department of Management, Society and Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. She holds a B.A. in Politics and a B.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the USA, a M.Phil. in Development Studies and a D.Phil. in Politics from the University of Oxford, UK. The main research area of Lindsay Whitfield is comparative political economy of development, and her regional focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Banga Karishma
Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex
Karishma Banga is a Research Fellow in Digital Development at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, Brighton. Her research examines new models of digital-led development, changing nature of Global Value Chains and digital trade negotiations, with a focus on development implications for low and middle-income countries. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the International Economic Development Group, ODI working on international trade in the digital age with a focus on Africa and Asia, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration, Graduate Institute of Geneva. She has led and worked on a range of projects with international organisations and stakeholders, including UNECA, Commonwealth Secretariat, UNCTAD, Afreximbank, African Union, WTO, and Pathways for Prosperity, University of Oxford. Karishma holds a PhD in Global Value Chains from the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester and a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge
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Marion Jansen
OECD
Ms. Marion Jansen is Director of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD) at the OECD since 14 September 2020. Before joining the OECD, Ms. Jansen was the Director for the Division of Market Development and Chief Economist at the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva having also been their Section Chief for Research and Strategies for Exports (2014-2018). She was responsible for ITC’s flagship publication, the SME Competitiveness Outlook, oversaw ITC’s contributions to G20 processes, led the agency’s export strategy work and oversaw ITC’s work on trade and firm level data. Prior to this, she held different positions in the Economic Research and Statistics Division of the World Trade Organization (2012-2014; 1999-2009). As a counsellor, she provided economic advice to WTO dispute settlement panels, co-managed the WTO Chairs Programme and provided lead contributions to the WTO’s World Trade Report. From 2009 to 2012, Marion Jansen was the Head of the Trade and Employment Programme at the International Labour Organization in Geneva. In this role, she oversaw research, policy advice and technical assistance on trade and employment. She also developed a stream of work on skills for trade and economic diversification. From 1998-1999 Marion Jansen worked in the private sector (Maxwell Stamp PLC, UK). Ms. Jansen has published widely on international trade and global governance, including on regional integration, services liberalization and agricultural trade. She has lectured in multiple academic institutions, including the University of Geneva and the World Trade Institute. Ms Jansen, holds a Doctorate Degree in International Economics from the Pompeu Fabra University (Spain); a Master's Degree in International Economics from the Universität Konstanz (Germany) and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Economics from the Universität Passau (Germany). She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in International and Developmental Economics from the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole (France).
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Deborah Winkler
World Bank
Deborah Winkler is a Senior Economist in the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice. Deborah has worked on issues of global value chains, offshoring, export competitiveness, foreign direct investment, and trade in services; their determinants; and their economic and social effects. She is particularly interested in the role that policy can play in mediating these relationships. She is a former Research Associate of the New School for Social Research and received her PhD in economics from the University of Hohenheim in Germany.Most recently, Deborah was a lead author of the World Bank’s report on Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality (2020) and a core team member of the World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains (2019).
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Larissa Rodrigues
Instituto Escolhas
Larissa holds a PhD and a master’s degree in Energy by the University of Sao Paulo (USP) and a bachelor’s in International Relations by Faculdades Belas Artes. She acted as the coordinator of Research and Investigations at Greenpeace Brazil, as well as a Climate and Energy campaigner. She has solid experience working with climate, energy, and forests. Her background includes projects with international organizations, universities, and the private sector on energy systems and natural resources regulation and modeling.
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Cornelia Staritz
University of Vienna
Cornelia Staritz is Tenure Track Professor in Development Economics at the Department of Development Studies at the University of Vienna. She is also member of the Advisory Board of the Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE) and Research Associate at the Policy Research on International Services and Manufacturing (PRISM) at the Department of Economics at the University of Cape Town. She holds a PhD in Economics from the New School for Social Research and a Doctorate in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Her research focuses on development economics and policy, international trade and trade policy, global production networks and value chains, and commodity-based development.
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Gale Raj-Reichert
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin
Gale Raj-Reichert is Research Fellow at Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB) and the Principal Investigator of the DFG funded project ‘Labour governance in global production networks: Assessing labour standards in a new generation of public procurement legislation and trade agreements linked to market access into the European Union’ (LG-GPN). The project, which is in cooperation with researchers at the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Vienna, assesses in what ways socially responsible public procurement and labour standards in trade agreements in the EU improve labour governance in the electronics and clothing industries in Vietnam. Gale is currently on secondment from Queen Mary University of London School of Geography where she is a Lecturer in Economic Geography.
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Stefano Ponte
Copenhagen Business School
Stefano Ponte is a Professor of International Political Economy and Director of the Centre for Business and Development Studies at Copenhagen Business School. His research focuses on governance dynamics, and economic and environmental upgrading trajectories in global value chains — especially in developing countries and in Africa. He is particularly interested in how sustainability standards, labels and certifications shape agro-food value chains, and in how different forms of partnerships affect sustainability outcomes.
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Janina Grabs
ESADE Business School and Environmental Policy Lab, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zürich
Janina Grabs is an Assistant Professor of Business and Society at the Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability at ESADE Business School, Barcelona. She received her PhD in Political Science from the University of Münster, Germany, and previously was a post-doctoral researcher at ETH Zurich and visiting researcher at Yale University. Her work focuses on the private governance of sustainability in global value chains, with a special focus on tropical agricultural commodities such as coffee and palm oil. Her work on the effectiveness of private sustainability governance in the coffee sector has been widely recognized, inter alia with ESG’s Oran R. Young Prize, APSA’s Virginia M. Walsh Dissertation Award, and ECPR’s Giandomenico Majone Prize, and is published in the book “Selling Sustainability Short? The Private Governance of Labor and the Environment in the Coffee Sector” (2020, Cambridge University Press), which received the AoM 2021 ONE Book Award. She has further published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Regulation & Governance, Business Strategy and the Environment, New Political Economy, the Journal of Economic Geography, Ecological Economics, and the Journal of Environmental Management. Janina is also a research fellow of the Earth System Governance project, is the Earth System Governance Journal’s Book Review Editor, serves on the Outreach Committee of the International Studies Association’s Environmental Studies Section, is a founding member of the ECPR Standing Group on Regulatory Governance’s Early Career Network, and sits on the Standing Group on Regulatory Governance’s Steering Committee.
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Federico Cammelli
Environmental Policy Lab, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zürich
Federico Cammelli is a postdoctoral researcher at the Environmental Policy Lab of ETH Zurich. He received his PhD in Economics from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). His research focuses on designing and assessing public and private policies to mitigate commodity driven deforestation and forest degradation in the Brazilian Amazon, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
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Rachael D. Garrett
Environmental Policy Lab, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zürich
Rachael Garrett is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Policy at ETH Zürich (Switzerland). Dr. Garrett's research examines interactions between land use, ecosystem services, and economic development at multiple spatial and temporal scales to better understand the drivers and impacts of land change and the effectiveness of existing conservation policies and practices. She is particularly interested in how commodity supply chains interact with environmental institutions to shape land use processes, resource distribution, and trade. Her research has largely focused on land change processes in agriculture-forest frontiers and sustainable intensification of pastures in the tropics. More recently she is leading a pan-tropical analysis of the effectiveness and equity of forest-focused supply chain policies with funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation and an ERC Starting Grant. This work involves coordinated research in Brazil, Ghana, Indonesia, and Ivory Coast on beef cattle, cocoa, oil palm, and soybean supply chains. Dr. Garrett received her doctorate at Stanford University and did her post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University. Prior to working at ETH Zürich she was an Assistant Professor at Boston University.
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