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Voluntary business activities to mitigate climate change: Case studies in Japan

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  • Wakabayashi, Masayo

Abstract

Voluntary business activities, such as the voluntary action plans conducted by comprehensive business associations in Japan to reduce environmental damage, are viable policy instruments alongside regulations and economic incentives (e.g. taxes and emissions trading schemes). This paper examines three case studies in which voluntary activities have played a successful role in mitigating climate change. Based on interviews with business organisations together with a literature review and data analysis, we show why businesses are motivated to take socially responsible actions and describe the major benefits of such activities. One of the important benefits of voluntary activities is their flexibility in phasing measures. This flexibility is greatly appreciated, since industries are able to retain control of their responses to future uncertainties, which allows them to tackle climate change issues aggressively. We conclude that voluntary activities have been more environmentally effective than alternative policy measures under a proper institutional framework, which consists of effective motivation mechanisms for businesses, governmental measures to encourage their compliance, and capable industrial associations that can lessen the transaction costs both of the government and of industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Wakabayashi, Masayo, 2013. "Voluntary business activities to mitigate climate change: Case studies in Japan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1086-1090.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:1086-1090
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.027
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Wu, Bao & Monfort, Abel & Jin, Chenfei & Shen, Xinyan, 2022. "Substantial response or impression management? Compliance strategies for sustainable development responsibility in family firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    2. Thollander, Patrik & Kimura, Osamu & Wakabayashi, Masayo & Rohdin, Patrik, 2015. "A review of industrial energy and climate policies in Japan and Sweden with emphasis towards SMEs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 504-512.
    3. Jung Eun Kang & D.K. Yoon & Jinyoung Rhee, 2017. "Factors contributing to business actions in response to climate change in Korea," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 385-403, March.
    4. Toshi H.Arimura & Shinji Kaneko & Shunsuke Managi & Takayoshi Shinkuma & Masashi Yamamoto & Yuichiro Yoshida, 2016. "Political Economy of Voluntary Approaches: A Lesson from Environmental Policies," Working Papers e107, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.
    5. Simon Cadez & Albert Czerny & Peter Letmathe, 2019. "Stakeholder pressures and corporate climate change mitigation strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 1-14, January.

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