Environmental standard

About: Environmental standard is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 261 publications have been published within this topic receiving 5646 citations.

Do Corporate Global Environmental Standards Create or Destroy Market Value

Abstract: Arguments can be made on both sides of the question of whether a stringent global corporate environmental standard represents a competitive asset or liability for multinational enterprises (MNEs) investing in emerging and developing markets. Analyzing the global environmental standards of a sample of U.S.-based MNEs in relation to their stock market performance, we find that firms adopting a single stringent global environmental standard have much higher market values, as measured by Tobin'sq, than firms defaulting to less stringent, or poorly enforced host country standards. Thus, developing countries that use lax environmental regulations to attract foreign direct investment may end up attracting poorer quality, and perhaps less competitive, firms. Our results also suggest that externalities are incorporated to a significant extent in firm valuation. We discuss plausible reasons for this observation.

Are foreign investors attracted to weak environmental regulations? Evaluating the evidence from China

Abstract: One of the most contentious debates today is whether pollution-intensive industries from rich countries relocate to poor countries with weaker environmental standards, turning them into pollution havens. Empirical studies to date show little evidence to support the pollution haven hypothesis, but suffer potentially from omitted variable bias, specification, and measurement errors. The authors estimate the strength of pollution-haven behavior by examining the location choices of equity joint venture (EJV) projects in China. They derive a location choice model from a theoretical framework that incorporates the firm's production and abatement decision, agglomeration, and factor abundance. The authors estimate conditional logit and nested logit models using new data sets containing information on a sample of EJV projects, effective environmental levies on water pollution, and estimates of Chinese pollution-intensity for 3-digit ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification) industries. Results from 2,886 manufacturing joint venture projects from 1993-96 show that EJVs from all source countries go into provinces with high concentrations of foreign investment, relatively abundant stocks of skilled workers, concentrations of potential local suppliers, special incentives, and less state ownership. Environmental stringency does affect location choice, but not as expected. Low environmental levies are a significant attraction only for joint ventures in highly-polluting industries with partners from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan (China). In contrast, joint ventures with partners from OECD sources are not attracted by low environmental levies, regardless of the pollution intensity of the industry. The authors discuss the likely role of technological differences in explaining these results.

Clear water, blue skies : China's environment in the new century

Abstract: Since 1978 China's economy has produced economic growth rates making it one of the fastest growing economies. In the same period, China's environment has deteriorated significantly. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have generated enormous volumes of air and water pollutants, lowering air and water quality. China's urban population soared, moving more Chinese closer to industrial smokestacks and residential emissions and increasing the number of people exposed to polluted urban air and water. This report focuses on two of China's most pressing environmental concerns -air and water pollution- and their relation to economic growth. Specifically, it addresses three questions: What are the costs of pollution in China today? Will future economic growth impair or improve air and water quality? And what policies are needed now to ensure that rising incomes translate into a higher environmental standard of living for current and future generations? Chapter one estimates the costs of pollution -urban air pollution, indoor air pollution, water pollution, and lead pollution- on health (premature deaths and sicknesses); and assesses the damage to productive resources and urban infrastructure. Chapter two examines the economic reforms and environmental policies that can hold pollution costs in check. Various scenarios are presented: the business-as-usual scenario and alternative scenarios that increase fuel substitutions, improve energy efficiency and conservation and diversify energy supplies, invest in air pollution control, develop public transportation systems and discourage vehicle use, raise the abatement rate for industrial water pollution, and increase the coverage and level of municipal wastewater treatment. Chapter three concentrates on improving efficiency and developing coal alternatives, and controlling emissions by industrial, power, commercial, and household sources. Chapter four focuses on China's need to revamp its regulatory system to harness market forces and reorient new investment to safeguard the environment. Chapter five argues that China should shape its urban environmental destiny by both using the conventional pollution control policies and harnessing its own considerable administrative and coordinating capacity in transportation management and municipal planning. Water shortages and water pollution, two main water-related constraints to China's socioeconomic development, are the focus of Chapter six. Finally, Chapter seven encourages China to turn its assets into advantages for preserving and improving its environment and securing higher environmental living standards.

Standardization and Discretion: Does the Environmental Standard ISO 14001 Lead to Performance Benefits?

Abstract: This study sought to determine if the environmental management standard ISO 14001 helps organizations reduce the negative impact their business activities may have on the environment, and as a result, also improves their business performance. Forty organizations participated in the study and described how they implement ISO 14001 requirements. They also reported how the standard impacts on their environmental and business performance. The results show that if ISO 14001 requirements become part of the organization's daily practices, then standardization of the organization's handling of environmental issues follows-leading, consequently, to better organizational environmental performance. In addition, standardization augments its effect on organizational environmental performance through its positive impact on employee discretion. Allowing employees discretion further improves environmental performance. We saw that discretion partially mediates the effect of standardization on environmental performance. Analysis of survey and financial data did not reveal any support for the hypothesis that achieving improvement in environmental performance as result of ISO 14001 implementation leads to better business performance; on the other hand, we saw that business performance was not harmed

The Environmental Performance of Participatory and Collaborative Governance: A Framework of Causal Mechanisms

Abstract: Many have advocated for collaborative governance and the participation of citizens and stakeholders on the basis that it can improve the environmental outcomes of public decision making, as compared to traditional, top-down decision making. Others, however, point to the potential negative effects of participation and collaboration on environmental outcomes. This article draws on several literatures to identify five clusters of causal mechanisms describing the relationship between participation and environmental outcomes. We distinguish (i) mechanisms that describe how participation impacts on the environmental standard of outputs, from (ii) mechanisms relating to the implementation of outputs. Three mechanism clusters focus on the role of representation of environmental concerns, participants' environmental knowledge, and dialogical interaction in decision making. Two further clusters elaborate on the role of acceptance, conflict resolution, and collaborative networks for the implementation of decisions. In addition to the mechanisms, linking independent with dependent variables, we identify the conditions under which participation may lead to better (or worse) environmental outcomes. This helps to resolve apparent contradictions in the literature. We conclude by outlining avenues for research that builds on this framework for analysis.