Voluntary Environmental Programs: Assessing Their Effectiveness

Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) seek to improve the environment by encouraging, rather than mandating, businesses and other organizations to adopt environmentally protective measures. Since the 1990s, VEPs established by industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations have proliferat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of environment and resources 2009-01, Vol.34 (1), p.305-324
Main Authors: BORCK, Jonathan C, COGLIANESE, Cary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
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Summary:Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) seek to improve the environment by encouraging, rather than mandating, businesses and other organizations to adopt environmentally protective measures. Since the 1990s, VEPs established by industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations have proliferated around the globe, raising the question of how effective these programs are in securing environmental protection, both on their own and in comparison to traditional mandatory regulations. This article reviews the emerging research literature on VEPs, describing the variation in their structures, providing a framework for assessing their impacts, and summarizing what is known about why organizations engage in voluntary environmental action and what effects these programs have on environmental quality.
ISSN:1543-5938
1545-2050
DOI:10.1146/annurev.environ.032908.091450