The use of contracts as a form of private regulation, to create healthy food retail environments

This thesis explores the use of contracts as a form of private regulation, to create healthy food retail environments. I examine contracts through a regulatory lens and review existing research on the use of private regulation to create healthy food retail environments. Then I define best practice recommendations for the use of contracts in creating healthy food retail initiatives and test those recommendations against the policy and contract documents from a real-world initiative. Finally, I explore stakeholder perspectives on the relevance of best practice and the factors that led to the sustained success of this healthy food retail initiative.