Climate change is a fact of life. We need to act urgently if we are to avoid an irreversible build-up of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and global warming at a potentially huge cost to the economy and society worldwide. OECD analysis suggests that if we act now, we have 10 to 15 years’ “breathing...

Voluntary initiatives in the area of corporate responsibility have been among the major trends in international business in recent years. Business surveys show that most large OECD-based multinational enterprises have participated in this trend in one way or another. These initiatives involve,...

Government involvement in “voluntary” initiatives for corporate responsibility has been extensive. This chapter reviews four main types of involvement -- legal and regulatory incentives, tax expenditures on the NGO sector, contributions to compliance expertise and moral suasion. The most...

Many companies have implemented programmes that help them to respond to societal concerns about the economic, social and environmental impacts of their activities. These help them to manage their compliance with legal or regulatory requirements and their response to “softer” forms of social...

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness calls upon donor and partner countries to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of country systems in a way that guarantees ownership and sustainable results. Within this context, the current paper provides a synthesis of major elements and...

As the Polluter-Pays Principle is a fundamental principle of cost allocation, its analysis covers a substantial part of the vast field of environmental resource allocation. This report, originally published in 1975, presents a selection of relevant theoretical and practical analyses now that the...

Debates exist between those who claim that environmental policy will impose additional burdens and costs on industries, thus impairing their competitiveness, and those who claim that improved environmental performance can spur competitiveness. These arguments often surface when new environmental...