The Kyoto Protocol sets legally binding emission targets for industrialised countries without accounting for reductions carried out prior to 2008, the beginning of the first commitment period. There exists only one exception, the project-based Clean Development Mechanism where credits accrue...

Policymakers have encouraged pollution prevention by facilities through mandatory reporting in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and voluntary participation in environmental programs like the 33/50 program. While previous studies have focused on participation incentives and the effectiveness of...

Many firms conduct 'environmental audits' to test compliance with a complex array of environmental regulations. Commentators suggest, however, that self-auditing is not as common as it should be, because firms fear that what they find will be used against them. This article analyzes...

Using Japanese facility-level data from an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development survey, we estimate the effects of implementation of ISO14001 and publication of environmental reports on the facilities' environmental performance. While most previous studies focused on an index...

This paper compares, in a polluting oligopoly, an emission tax and a form of environmental policy called voluntary agreement (VA). Here there are two ways of reducing pollution: output contraction and end-of-pipe abatement. Given the imperfect competition, firms' reaction to the tax is...

In recent years, voluntary approaches to emission reductions have increasingly been adopted by major companies all over the world and have increasingly been supported by regulatory bodies and public administrations. Despite this world-wide effort to achieve a better environmental performance...

Despite the large use of the notion of voluntary approaches, economic literature is generally unassuming their definitions. Discussions about definitions are not unimportant quibbles over words and can change the way we think. Do voluntary approaches constitute a new form of regulation? The...

Many firms have instituted a policy of conducting their own "environmental audits" to test compliance with a complex array of environmental regulations. Yet, commentators suggest that self-auditing is still not as common as it should be because firms fear that the information they gather will be...