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Workshop: Corporate Environmental Behavior and the Effectiveness of Government Interventions (2004)

Paper Number: EE-0484

Document Date: 08/01/2004

Author(s):  Alpha-Gamma Technologies, Inc.

Subject Area(s):

Economic Analysis, Corporate Behavior, Voluntary Programs, Economic Incentives, Compliance, Economic Impacts

Keywords: Economic Analysis, Corporate Behavior, Voluntary Programs, Economic Incentives, Compliance, Economic Impacts

Summary: 

The purpose of the Environmental Policy and Economics Workshop Series is to hold in-depth workshops on timely topics that will further the use of economics as a tool for environmental decision making. Both NSF/EPA grant recipients and researchers (from EPA, fellow Federal agencies, academia, and others) will be invited to attend and discuss their on-going research. Topics will be chosen based on relevance to current EPA issues and, more broadly, to issues of concern to the environmental economics community. These topics include exploration of innovations in economic research methods as well as how research will further environmental policy making and future environmental economic studies.

This two-day workshop co-sponsored by EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics and National Center for Environmental Research highlighted results from EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants and other projects related to the understanding of corporate environmental behavior in response to environmental regulations. Investigators presented research that analyzed the compliance decisions of regulated entities, examined how regulated and non-regulated entities consider environmental costs, and determined the effectiveness of governmental interventions and voluntary initiatives at improving corporate environmental performance. The workshop featured a luncheon panel discussion on making progress towards an environmental facility research database. Each day of the workshop started with opening statements - Mike Stahl, Director of the Office of Compliance, provided remarks on the first day and Jim Gulliford, Regional Administrator of Region 7, provided remarks the second day of the workshop.

Introduction: Day 1

Introductory Remarks: Mike Stahl, Director, Office of Compliance, US Environmental Protection Agency

Session I: Enforcement Issues

  • Factors Shaping Corporate Environmental Performance: Regulatory Pressure, Community Pressure, and Financial Status, Dietrich Earnhardt, University of Kansas
  • Deterrence and Corporate Environmental Behavior, Rovert Kagan, University of California at Berkeley, and Neil Gunningham, Australian National University
  • When and Why Do Plants Comply? Paper Mills in the 1980s, Wayne Gray, Clark University
  • Discussant, Nick Franco, OECA
  • Discussant, Randy Becker, U.S. Bureau of Census
  • Summary of Q&A Discussion Following Session I

Session II: Compliance Issues

  • Corporate Self-Policing and the Environment: Factors Predicting Self-Disclosure of Clean Air Act Violations Under the EPA’s Audit Policy, Paul Stretesky, Colorado State University
  • Regulation and Compliance Motivations: Marine Facilities and Water Quality, Peter May, University of Washington
  • Discussant.  Jon Silberman, U.S. EPA, OECA/National Center for Environmental Innovation (NCEI)
  • Discussant, John Horowitz, University of Maryland
  • Summary of Q&A Discussion Following Session II

Session III: Approaches to Environmental Performance

  • A Multi-Agent Model of a Small Firm, Clinton Andrews, Rutgers University
  • Do Facilities With Distant Headquarters Pollute More?: How Civic Engagement Conditions the Environmental Performance of Absentee Managed Plants, Don Grant, University of Arizona
  • Compliance and Beyond: Strategic Government-Industry Interactions in Environmental Policy and Performance - The Role of Technical Information in Reducing Automobile Emissions, Jennie Stephens, Harvard University
  • Discussant, Carl Pasurka, U.S. EPA, NCEE
  • Discussant, Don Siegel, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Summary of Q&A Discussion Following Session III

Introduction: Day 2

Introductory Remarks by Jim Gulliford Region 7 Regional Administrator

Session IV: Evaluation of Voluntary Programs

  • The ISO 14001 Management Standard: Exploring the Drivers of Certification, Andrew King, Dartmouth College and Michael Lennox, Duke University
  • Participation in Voluntary Programs, Corporate Reputation, and Intangible Value: Estimating the Value of Participating in EPA’s ENERGY STAR Program, Lou Nadeau, ERG, Inc
  • Discussant, Charles Griffiths, U.S. EPA, NCEE
  • Discussant, Jorge Rivera, George Mason University

Session V: Environmental Management Systems

  • Institutional Pressure and Environmental Management Practices: An Empirical Analysis, Magali Delmas, University of California at Santa Barbara
  • Environmental Management Systems: Informing Organizational Decisions, Deanne Matthews, Carnegie-Mellon University
  • Formalized Environmental Management Procedures: What Drives Performance Improvements? Evidence From Four U.S. Industries, Richard Andrews, University of North Carolina
  • Discussant, Chuck Kent, U.S. EPA, OPEI
  • Discussant,  Pat Atkins, Alcoa
  • Summary of Q&A Discussion Following Session V

Session VI: Information Disclosure

  • Information Disclosure and Risk Reduction: The Sources of Varying State Performance in Control of Toxic Chemical Emissions, Michael Kraft, University Wisconsin at Green Bay
  • The Effect of Reporting Thresholds on the Validity of TRI Data as Measures of Environmental Performance: Evidence from Massachusetts, Lori Snyder, Harvard University
  • Discussant, John Dombrowski, U.S. EPA, OEI
  • Discussant, Tom Beierle, Resources for the Future
  • Summary of Q&A Discussion Following Session VI

This workshop is part of the Environmental Policy and Economics Workshop Series.

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  • Corporate Environmental Behavior and the Effectiveness of Government Interventions (PDF)(693 pp, 4 MB, 08/01/2004, EE-0484)
    Two-day workshop co-sponsored by EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics and National Center for Environmental Research highlighted results from EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants and other projects related to the understanding of corporate environmental behavior in response to environmental regulations. Investigators presented research that analyzed the compliance decisions of regulated entities, examined how regulated and non-regulated entities consider costs.