Environmental regulation, sustainability and risk

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an overview of environmental regulation and recent trends and developments in this area, rooted in the practical regulatory implementation activities of EPAs worldwide and drawing connection to sustainability, environmental risks, economics and environmental justice.Design/methodology/approachThe design and methodology in developing “Better (Environmental) Regulation” is addressed drawn on experiences from different regulatory systems. It addresses the linkages between environment, economy, regulation and sustainability and adopts and develops Sparrow's approach to a focus on tackling harms.FindingsA range of challenges in policy and practice terms – e.g. economic growth versus sustainability – is described. Arguments against the political economy convention of reducing burdens are made and a spectrum of compliance for regulators is offered, leading to a proposed agenda to help deliver better regulation generally.Research limitations/implicationsA major challenge in arguing for an anti‐burden approach is the lack of a general ecosystem services approach and the dearth of valuation data to validate industry claims, demonstrate the costs of compliance and non‐environment and the value of protection.Practical implicationsThe argument is presented that environmental regulation is of fundamental value not only to the environment per se but to tackling climate change and protecting society at large.Originality/valueHitherto there has been very little in the literature from a practitioner perspective, analysing and proposing improvements to environmental regulation in practice while preserving and securing environmental and sustainability policy objectives. This paper should support and encourage policy makers and implementers in improving practice.

Research on the Impact Factors of Green Economy of China—From the Perspective of System and Foreign Direct Investment

“…Patent protection systems can encourage independent R&D of enterprises, reduce the risk for R&D, and benefit technological innovation and sustainable economic development. The implementation of a reasonable environmental regulation system will have a certain positive effect on the improvement of the environment [32]. However, China often does not pay enough attention to the control of environmental pollution in the process of economic development.…”

The impact of official development assistance on the economic growth and carbon dioxide mitigation for the recipient countries

“…All human activities involving economic development affect environment one way another. Accordingly, to increase the sustainability, environmental regulation for any business, especially in the global context is essential (Gemmell and Scott 2013). It directly connects to the fact that global aid such as ODA should consider the environmental regulation and environmental impact of business and project.…”

A multi‐perspective exploration of the environmental website disclosure in global manufacturing

“…This result may be viewed as an indication that the environmental compliance work area stands out from other topics of corporate environmental management. The special role of the compliance work area is also reflected in the research of Gemmell and Scott (2013), who argue that environmental regulations can be viewed as a fundamental means of securing sustainable development. As displayed in Table 5, ‘compliance’ was most often found in the reports of European companies (mean: 79) and Japanese companies (mean: 52.8).…”