Enhancing our understanding of the role of environmental policy in environmental innovation: adoption explained by the accumulation of policy instruments and agent-based factors

The empirical literature reports conflicting findings on the relation between environmental policy and environmental innovation: environmental policy both encourages and impedes environmental innovation, resulting in competing theoretical explanations. To find a way out of this counterproductive debate requires new and complementary insights into the effects of different policy instruments. This research therefore advances an approach in which a set of specific policy instruments as well as firms’ behavior regarding CHP (cogeneration of heat and power) adoption are considered as two distinct factors explaining environmental innovation in the Dutch paper and board industry. Using a longitudinal research design, the focus was not on any single policy instrument but on the accumulation of policy instruments. In addition, we studied intra-organizational factors influencing the adoption decision.Overall, we can conclude that paper and board factories perceive governmental environmental policies to be relevant, but that this constitutes just one of the factors influencing adoption processes, next to intra-organizational factors. The relative importance of such policies varies over time and per adoption process. The role of top-down regulation appears to be limited, whereas interactive regulation turned out to be important for several factories in the latest period of adoption. Positive economic instruments were important in almost all adoption processes, but were not and will never be the most important reason for adoption. The most important reason for CHP adoption appears to be high energy prices in combination with cost price reduction or the threat of additional regulation. For future policies, we recommend the implementation of a specific mixture of policy instruments, attuned to the specific industry and reinforcing each other. Moreover, goals should be consistent over time to avoid risk-averse behavior.     

Voluntary agreements in environmental policy: an empirical evaluation for the Chilean case

In this paper the author assesses and discusses the Chilean approach on voluntary environmental agreements. Based on a survey-questionnaire performed in 322 facilities belonging to four industrial sectors, the author evaluated the effectiveness and (static) efficiency of five voluntary agreements (VAs). Using the propensity score method, the study found out that VAs had a significant effect in encouraging the implementation of environmental initiatives, although, most of them represent incremental rather than radical improvements. Moreover, whilst it confirms that VAs can suffer from regulatory capture, it also reveals that capture can coexist with significant environmental improvements in other areas. Regarding the static efficiency impact, it suggests that VAs succeeded in encouraging cost minimization in terms of operational and transaction costs. Furthermore, this research documented that participation in an industrial association is by far the most significant variable associated with voluntary agreements, and that regulatory threats and governmental funding are incentives of secondary importance. Finally, it concludes, by highlighting that the lack of public participation together with several institutional and political factors that subdue the ambitiousness of targets, are the most serious drawbacks, which should be addressed in order to avoid credibility issues of VAs, in the near future.     

The state of environmental performance evaluation in the public sector: the case of the Portuguese defence sector

The environmental performance evaluation (EPE) of organizations is becoming an autonomous management tool. The main goal of this research was to assess the state of EPE practice in the Portuguese defence sector, as a particular part of public services. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving all Portuguese military units that have a person in charge of environmental issues. The questionnaire was designed to assess: (i) the importance and drivers of EPE; (ii) the ISO 14031 knowledge and implementation; (iii) the knowledge and use of environmental indicators; (iv) the optimal format for indicators; and (v) the advantages and drawbacks of using environmental indicators. Despite various initiatives driving environmental practices in public organizations, most of that experience is only centred on an environmental management system, and EPE is quite a new issue. Nevertheless, general environmental performance evaluation is a growing reality and one in which Portuguese military units are taking an increasing interest. Overall respondents agree on the importance of measuring and communicating environmental performance related to their main missions and activities. The main drivers for EPE in military units are the prevention of health risks and compliance with regulations. However, to date, ISO 14031 and environmental performance indicators are almost unknown in the respondent military units. Among the three military branches, the Navy revealed the worst environmental performance evaluation knowledge, awareness and practice.     

The measurement of corporate environmental performance and its application to the analysis of efficiency in oil industry

This paper addresses a measurement of corporate environmental performance, and its application to the analysis of efficiency in the petroleum firms. In order to measure firms' environmental performance, we suggest a framework called “Gscore” that consists of five categories, namely general environmental management (GEM), input, process, output, and outcome. Gscore is a proxy measure of corporate environmental performance based on voluntary environment, health, and safety (EHS) report and is calculated by aggregating the points of the above five-categories. We apply our measurement framework to the data of 39 firms' voluntary EHS reports which are available on the internet. Ten of them, on which efficiency analysis was conducted with Gscore, assets, employee, and profits, are in petroleum and refining industry. According to our results: (1) a gap is found between rhetoric and practical environmental management stemming from calculating the relation between GEM and data part in 39 EHS reports. (2) On the whole, EHS reports of petroleum firms have something in common, but there are significant differences in the type and amounts of disclosed data among the EHS reports. (3) From the results of efficiency analysis, it is found that the number of employee exerts a considerable influence on determining the relative efficiency of petroleum firms, then Gscore, profits, and assets in sequence. Furthermore, Exxon, Ashland, Phillips Petroleum, and ARCO are shown to be efficient among 10 petroleum firms.     

Framework for environmental performance measurement in a Swedish public sector organization

Environmental performance measurements are an important component in strategies for achieving ecologically sustainable development. However, models and frameworks for performance measurement are primarily developed for business and may not be directly applicable to public organizations. This study aimed to contribute to the development of environmental performance measurement tools for public sector organizations by developing an appropriate framework. The study is based on a case study of the Swedish Rail Administration. The main method for data collection was focus group interviews. The proposed framework presents important features of an environmental performance measurement for the public sector and is illustrated by results from the case organization. The framework was constructed using the causal-chain framework pressure-state-response (PSR) and the management system management-by-objectives (MBO), respectively measuring and managing performance towards both strategic and operational objectives. An environmental management system serves as a toolbox, encompassing and coordinating the environmental objectives and the tools for performance measurement.     

Translating soil science into environmental policy: A case study on implementing the EU soil protection strategy in The Netherlands

The EU Commission has proposed a way forward towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection based on the distinction of seven soil functions and eight threats. A Technical Working Group on Research defined some 200 general priority research areas in the context of the dynamic DPSIR approach considering drivers, pressures, states, impacts and responses. Though quite valuable as a source document, this may be too generic and academic to be a starting point for new, effective soil research in different regions of the EU. A six-step storyline procedure is therefore proposed aimed at deriving effective operational procedures for a water management unit in a given region, using available soil expertise and defining new research only where needed. The procedure, that was illustrated for a Dutch case study, consists of defining: (i) water management units (wmu's) in a landscape context; (ii) land-use, area hydrology and soil functions (iii) soil threats and relevant soil qualities; (iv) drivers of land-use change and their future impact; (v) improvement of relevant soil qualities; (vi) possibilities to institutionalize soil quality improvement as part of the EU soil protection strategy. A focus on regional wmu's is likely to result in a strong commitment of local stakeholders and governmental officials, allowing a more specific DPSIR approach. But this will only work if local officials also receive legal powers to develop and enforce codified ‘good practices’, to be developed in the context of communities of practice. Innovative research topics can be derived from a combined analysis of experiences within different communities of practice in different wmu's and should not be left to researchers to define.     

The roles of computer models in the environmental policy life cycle

In this article, we identify four typical roles played by computer models in environmental policy-making, and explore the relationship of these roles to different stages of policy development over time. The four different roles are: models as eye-openers, models as arguments in dissent, models as vehicles in creating consensus and models for management. A general environmental policy life cycle is used to assess the different roles models play in the policy process. The relationship between the roles of models and the different stages of the policy life cycle is explored with a selection of published accounts of computer models and their use in environmental policy-making.     

Finding the connection: environmental management systems and environmental performance

With more than 130,000 organizations worldwide certified according to ISO requirements, business people, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders have reason to wonder whether the purpose of ISO 14001, which is to help improve environmental performance, is being fulfilled. There is a growing body of literature attempting to answer this question. The results, however, are inconclusive.This meta-study analyzes a pool of 23 studies connecting environmental performance to environmental management systems. It shows that the reason that earlier studies arrived at mixed conclusions is twofold. Firstly, there is no agreement on what environmental performance is or how to measure it. Secondly, there is neither clarity nor agreement about how or why environmental management systems are expected to aid performance. It is therefore unclear whether the mechanisms that lead to improvement are expected to be the same for all companies or dependent on each implementation.The authors conclude that it is more fruitful to research how environmental management systems affect performance, rather than whether they do so or not. The recommended starting point for such studies is environmental performance as each organization defines it. This in turn implies a case by case approach and a need for much more research in the field.     

中国环保组织对环境民主的推动作用

<正>国际环保组织绿色和平经过多年努力,终于在2014年成功推动中国最大煤炭企业、在香港上市的国有企业神华集团改变其子公司的生产模式——神华煤制油化工有限公司将逐步停止在内蒙古鄂尔多斯抽取草原地下水,并补偿当地农牧民的损失。这是绿色和平在中国推动环保工作13年来,首次调查国有企业破坏环境的真相。地方政府不必再视煤炭企业为‘神圣不可侵犯’,可以放胆要求企业遵从惜取水资源的相关法规。这为我们未来继续推动中国远离依赖煤炭的工作,打了一支强     

Community knowledge in environmental health science: co-producing policy expertise

As lay publics demand a greater role in the environmental and health decision-making that impacts their lives, policy makers are being forced to find new ways of understanding and incorporating the expertise of professionals with the contextual intelligence that community residents possess. This paper highlights how co-producing science policy, where technical issues are not divorced from their social setting and a plurality of participants engage in everything from problem setting to decision-making, can contribute to more scientifically legitimate and publicly accountable decisions. Through a detailed case study utilizing participant observation, ethnographic field work, semi-structured interviews, and reviews of original documents, this paper highlights how residents in a low income, Latino immigrant neighborhood in New York City organized their knowledge to participate in and significantly alter a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exposure assessment. This paper reveals both the contributions and limits of local knowledge in environmental health governance and how the co-production framework can contribute to more technically credible science and democratically accountable policy.     

Mainstreaming climate policy: the role of media coverage in Finland

Integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures into other policies is considered to be a precondition for effective climate policies. This paper explores the role of mass media coverage as a potential obstacle or enhancing factor in relation to this mainstreaming of climate policies. The paper presents a quantitative content analysis of the national-level press coverage of climate change from 1990 to 2010, focusing on Finland. The empirical results indicate four major phases of Finnish media coverage of climate change: a definition phase before the Kyoto meeting in 1997, a maturation phase after the Kyoto meeting, climate hype in 2006–2008, and a phase of levelling off that started in late 2008. The results suggest that climate issues have widely permeated various fields of newspaper coverage. This broad-based debate may create and sustain a public agenda potentially favourable to attempts to bring climate policies into the mainstream of other policy domains. However, it also may open doors for unexpected initiatives by various activists and lobbyists that employ climate concern as a tool to advance other interests. The role of mass media has received little attention in studies focusing on the mainstreaming of climate policies. This paper highlights the importance of taking media coverage into account as a key factor in the formulation and implementation of environmental policies aimed at broad-based actions.     

以毒死蜱为案例的环境保护综合名录政策的实证研究

通过对毒死蜱生产技术的国内外发展研究,说明山东谦诚公司发明的吡啶双定向氯化合成三氯吡啶酚钠工艺,具有技术先进性、经济合理性、环境可达性,是我国独创的,是毒死蜱生产技术的重大突破。环境保护综合名录认为吡啶双定向氯化合成三氧吡啶酚钠工艺是重大突破,具有技术先进性、经济合理性、环境可达性;通过对产品的全过程控制,分析毒死蜱对人体、作物土壤均有影响但是利大于弊。是可以接受的,被列入环境友好工艺。     

环境政策对企业绩效的影响

一个国家的环境政策是国家保护环境的大致方针,直接关系到这个国家的环境立法和环境管理,更直接影响到这个国家的整体环境状况,不同类型的环境政策对企业也产生了各方面的影响。本文研究环境政策的不同形式、内容、具体执行手段及其对企业的环境、经济绩效产生的影响。通过研究西方发达国家的成功环境政策,探讨我国环境政策中存在的不足与缺陷。最后根据不同管理手段的可行性,有效性及最终效果,联系我国具体国情,在符合可持续发展原则的同时,提出更为有效,对企业绩效具有正面刺激的环境政策建议。     

Public acceptability towards environmental policy measures: Value-matching appeals

People’s acceptability of environmental policy measures is vital for a successful implementation. Identifying how information concerning radical policy measures can be improved may increase support and generate more positive attitudes towards the policy. The effect of tailored information on acceptability towards implementing a proposed congestion charge was investigated by matching ecocentric arguments to biospherically value-oriented participants, and anthropocentric arguments to those who endorsed egoistic values. 627 respondents living in two small Swedish cities participated via a web-based survey. The results show that the single arguments (anthropocentric or ecocentric appeals) were evaluated more favourably than the combination of arguments (including both anthropocentric and ecocentric appeals). Strong biospheric and strong egoistic values were associated with positive and negative evaluations of the policy proposal, respectively. Finally, while respondents who endorsed egoistic values tended to be more positive towards the proposal after reading anthropocentric arguments (value match) than after reading pro-environmental arguments (value mismatch), the opposite effect was observed for respondents who did not endorse egoistic values. Our results suggest that tailoring information with regard to people’s values would be effective in promoting positive attitudes towards important policy measures.     

The role of public policy in advancement of product service systems

This article discusses developments in the area of product service systems (PSS) and the need to facilitate the proliferation of the PSS approach through public policies. The article argues that policies that establish the framework conditions for environmental improvement are preferable to detailed legislation as they favour environmentally superior PSS. However, there is also a need for more specifically targeted policy measures that stimulate knowledge creation and dissemination in the PSS area. This article suggests that informative policy measures should be used by authorities and reviews the results from the functional programme of the Swedish EPA as an example of this type of policy.     

Evaluating the environmental performance of a university

An increasing number of organisations are moving towards assessing and reporting their environmental performance in a supply-chain context. Not only are such “footprint”-type assessments seen as more rigorous than sustainability reports created in-house, they also offer more abatement options than assessments limited to an organisation’s premises. Hybrid life-cycle assessment methods combining input-output analysis and process analysis are ideally suited to enumerate organisational footprints, because they were developed to enable overall complete results whilst being application-specific. We apply one of these hybrid methods, the Path Exchange Method to the task of planning for a sustainable campus at the University of Sydney in Australia. We show how this method can be used by an environmental or procurement officer for exploring environmental performance and abatement options across supply chains. We also show how parts of an organisation, for example University faculties, can be assessed and compared against each other. Whilst tools like ones used in this work enable quantitative decision support for procurement and operations policies, it takes staff awareness, engagement and training to successfully put such tools into practice.     

国际环境政策研究综述

国际环境政策是环境政策的重要组成部分,对中国的环境治理发挥了积极作用。经过几十年的发展,国际环境政策研究取得了长足发展,由"跟踪""学习"发展和深入到"创新""贡献",由以环境研究相关人员为主发展到全社会广泛关注和参与。另一方面,国际环境政策研究也存在占环境政策研究的比例较低,细分领域分布不平衡、碎片化,综合性战略性研究较少等问题。建议进一步加强国际环境政策的战略研究,加强重点领域的研究,加强基础支撑和条件保障等。     

Invasive species policy and climate change: social perceptions of environmental change in the Mediterranean

Climate change is raising significant issues for European invasive species policy. As natural and anthropogenic systems experience changing climatic conditions, opportunities for the distribution and establishment of invasive exotic plant species are projected to increase. Such environmental changes will provide significant challenges for the strategic planning and management of natural, agricultural and urban spaces. In this study, the perceptions of the impacts of invasive exotic plant species are examined and compared to perceptions of other environmental issues on the islands of Mallorca, Sardinia and Crete. A survey of key stakeholders was undertaken on the Mediterranean islands with the use of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. While there is a widespread tolerance of environmental change associated with the establishment of invasive species on the islands, local stakeholders raise concerns about specific impacts and the policies in place to respond to future risk. To build resilience within natural and anthropogenic systems to the changing climatic circumstances, a need exists for integrative environmental policy that supports local capacity to manage invasive species within Mediterranean landscapes.     

环保官司大透视--中华环保联合会援助村民状告兴隆县政府行政不作为追踪

2006年3月7日，河北省兴隆县半壁山镇靳杖子村的村民宋卫民，打电话给当地人民法院。当被告知状告县政府环保不作为的官司二审已立案、开庭审理还得等几个月时，这位已近中年的农村妇女百感交集，本应毫无悬念却扑朔迷离的环保官司，似乎有了新的转机。     

Policing and polluting: The role of practices in contemporary urban environmental pollution governance

Over the past 30 years, urban environmental pollution governance has been increasingly influenced by ideas of New Public Management. However, there is increasing evidence that it is failing in its promise to deliver efficient and effective regulation. The critiques are mounting of risk-based approaches, where regulators are increasingly accountable for the costs (and benefits) of their interventions upon firms.There is a particular lack of research on the role of conduct and practices involved on the ‘front line’ of regulation. This constrains our ability to understand how more efficient effective urban environmental pollution control might develop. This paper focuses on the regulator field officers and business duty holders of environmental compliance, who have direct contact in the processes and administration of regulation. Applying theories of social practice to environmental regulation, the paper provides new insights into compliance and enforcement practices, as these workers seek to prevent pollution, remediate sites and manage waste. The analysis reveals disconnects between expectations of enforcing and managing compliance; and between practices of policing and polluting.Using an ethnographic-informed approach to understand the social practices of regulation has not been attempted in this way before. It reveals new insights into limitations of current approaches to regulation, and indicates interventions that could lead to improved compliance outcomes in a post-New Public Management era in urban pollution governance.