IPPC and the Impact of Best Available Techniques (BAT) on the Competitiveness of European Industry

Technology-based industrial environmental management: a case study of electroplating in Shenzhen, China

“…According to the research of EC about the impact of BAT on European industry, primary measures have a generally positive impact on productivity and plant performance. Meanwhile, many sample plants with a strong environmental performance are able to use this as a competitive strength (Hitchens et al, 2001). Besides, various relevant policies in different countries have been undertaken and achieved exciting success, such as the Dutch Target Group Policy, the US Environmental Protection Agency's Common Sense Initiative, government-funded cleaner technology programs in Denmark, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme in the UK and so on (Bruijn and Norberg-Bohm, 2005).…”

Implementation of the IPPC Directive and its economic impacts: evidence from the EU steel and glass industry

“…This paper focuses on the economic impacts of the IPPCD at the plant or fi rm level, but also tries to capture the impact of IPPC implementation in MSs. While being less comprehensive than Hitchens et al (2002), we follow some more recent studies looking at the economic implications of IPPC implementation for specifi c sectors or countries (Pellini and Morris, 2002;Department for Enviroment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2007;Vercaemst et al, 2005). Our research extends this literature by looking at more than one country and more than one sector.…”

“…Therefore, this paper builds on earlier studies trying to specifi cally evaluate the impact of the IPPCD on competitiveness in more depth. The most comprehensive international ex-ante assessment has been undertaken by Hitchens et al (2002) on the impact of investment in BAT triggered by the IPPCD in the cement, pulp and paper as well as non-ferrous metals sectors. Using a matched-plant methodology, the study concluded that when BAT measures as a whole were related to plant performance strong BAT/environmental performers were not economically disadvantaged towards other plants with fewer BATs in place and still having higher emissions.…”

“…In many cases there were special circumstances that facilitated good environmental performance at minimum compliance cost, among them high productivity, young plant age, strong plant growth and research and development efforts leading to continuous investment in environmental initiatives. Due to the early stage of IPPC implementation, Hitchens et al (2002) had to make the analytical simplifi cation that the IPPCD would be implemented stringently and in a 'uniform' way across EU MSs. However, there is ample evidence that the implementation outcomes and processes of EU environmental legislation fall behind the goals set out in EU directives (see, e.g., Knill, 1998;Glachant et al, 2001).…”

Integrated environmental product innovation and impacts on company competitiveness: a case study of the automotive industry in the region of Munich

“…For instance, Hitchens et al (1990Hitchens et al ( , 1993 and Mason et al (1994) linked, in a systematic comparison of European fi rms, product quality and innovation, effi ciency and process innovation to competitiveness. The method was also extended for the exploration of the relationship between productivity and environmental performance across the EU (see Hitchens et al, 2002).…”