Environmental Policy Tools & Firm-Level Management Practices in the United States

The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, it offers preliminary advice regarding different U.S. environmental policies and programs that encourage environmental innovation. Second, this report will help the U.S. manufacturing facilities that participated in our study to benchmark their environmental management against similar companies. Finally, the U.S. study was created to contribute to the dialogue of the different types of environmental innovation policies and how they might vary across OECD countries. This report addresses three broad research questions: 1. Why do facilities introduce environmental management tools and systems? 2. Why do facilities undertake specific types of environmental investments and innovations? 3. What are the links between facilities' financial performance and their environmental management practices? To answer these questions, the U.S. study evaluated the internal factors, financial incentives, and external pressures that shape organizations' environmental behavior in a mail survey of 3,746 U.S. manufacturing facilities. A summary of the results is provided in the following sections