Roundtables are a type of multistakeholder partnership for sustainability standard-setting that has gained prominence in recent years. As a specific form of private governance, such collaborations focus on improving sustainability within one specific commodity chain or sector. As with other multistakeholder partnerships, roundtables include actors from

private businesses as well as NGOs. Representatives from government agencies might participate by consulting and observing, but have no decision-making role. Roundtables go beyond merely creating niche markets and instead aim to transform entire commodity chains towards more sustainable practices. The current generation of roundtables — such as Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI) and Roundtable for Sus­tainable Biofuels (RSB) — trace their conceptual origins to the multistakeholder initiatives of the forest and marine stewardship councils (FSC and MSC) [28]. Roundtables connect commodity chain actors from around the globe. These actors come from diverse locations, occupy various roles within the commodity chain, and hold different belief systems regard­ing sustainability. The legitimacy of their collective actions is based on the justification for why they are the right actors to govern the commodity chain, and the creation of a common understanding about what and how they desire to govern [28]. The establishment of shared goals and common activities are the basis for the working relationship.