Abstract
Raw material suppliers at the upstream end of the supply chain (SC) have been identified as sources of reputational and supply risks which induce substantial uncertainty in sustainable SCs. Adopting institutional theory, this systematic document analysis investigates the usefulness of third party sustainability standards for mineral resources from a multi-tier sustainable SC management perspective. The findings indicate that the reviewed standards can reduce institutional distance as well as supply and demand uncertainty in mineral SCs. Contrastingly, most of the standards fall short in supporting the integration of up- and downstream actors and establishing the multi tier SC as an institutional field.