Hamish van der Ven

Hamish van der Ven is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Business Management of Natural Resources at the University of British Columbia (UBC) within the Department of Wood Science and Faculty of Forestry. He leads the Business, Sustainability and Technology Lab and maintains affiliations with the Environmental Governance Lab at the University of Toronto, the Earth System Governance Project, and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards.

• PhD in Political Science from University of Toronto
• Previous roles at McGill University and Yale University
• Research focuses on sustainable supply chain governance, eco-labeling, transnational environmental governance, corporate social responsibility, and digital technology impacts

His recent work analyzes indirect climate impacts of generative AI and social media, transparency mechanisms in fast fashion, stakeholder influence on sustainability standards, and governance dynamics in buyer-driven supply chains. His 2019 book Beyond Greenwash? Explaining Credibility in Transnational Eco-Labeling (Oxford University Press) critiques eco-labeling efficacy.

Van der Ven's research has been funded by grants including SSHRC Insight Grant (2025-2030), SSHRC Explore Grant (2023), SSHRC IDG Grant (2021-2023), FRQSC Collaborative Grant (2018-2021), and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016-2017). He examines both broad trends in global environmental governance and specific case studies across agriculture, aquaculture, and retail sectors.