An organizing framework for the implementation of environmental voluntary approaches

Abstract

There is a rich terminology associated with environmental voluntary approaches. The richness in terminology is matched by the pervasive nature of the implementation of voluntary approaches into the fabric of European environmental policy and regulation. The lack of a universal definition of what an environmental voluntary approach is has made the implementation task more difficult. The richness in terminology dealing with environmental voluntary approaches is categorized and the characteristics, context and implementation of environmental voluntary approaches are discussed. This paper proposes an organizing framework for the implementation of environmental voluntary approaches, which includes context assessment; instrument rationale; negotiation process; content; implementation; and post‐implementation, enforcement and monitoring. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Extended producer responsibility in Brazil: the case of tyre waste

“…First, authors suggest that agreements should be applied to sectors with few companies and in similar economic situations; this because of compliance costs, which should be similar for all companies [17,22,23]. Second, it is important to formulate specific and quantitative instead of general, qualitative targets.…”

“…It is used as an 'umbrella' term and refers to diverse 'solutions' which might vary depending on the nature of the commitment, the process of defining targets, and the threats and incentives to encourage participation [17].…”

The Construction of the Disaster and the “Privatization” of Mining Regulation: Reflections on the Tragedy of the Rio Doce Basin, Brazil

“…The authors further argue for public access to monitoring data and results. Cunningham and Clinch (2004) insist that public involvement is one of the main features in defining agreements, arguing for mechanisms of participatory monitoring, which involve both the media and NGOs. Similarly, a report drafted by the OECD (2003) mentions that the involvement of NGOs increases the chances of achieving the goals proposed.…”

“…Generally speaking, such systems should be clear and trustworthy (EEA 1997). Furthermore, the evolution of agreement results should be disclosed periodically in a detailed manner (Bizer and Jülich 1999;Cunningham and Clinch 2004).…”

“…The literature also mentions the institutional capacity of regulatory agencies as an important factor (Cunningham and Clinch 2004). Moreover, there are criticism of agreements in which private companies assume all responsibilities, since such agreements tend to be less effective (Bizer and Jülich 1999).…”