IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v5y2013i6p2557-2588d26330.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of Systems to Manage Environmental Aspects on Environmental Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Dietrich Earnhart

    (Department of Economics, University of Kansas, 435 Snow Hall, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effect of systems to manage environmental aspects on environmental performance at individual polluting facilities. Regulated polluting facilities are increasingly embracing pollution minimization strategies that involve the adoption of broadly defined systems to manage environmental aspects. Despite a meaningful empirical literature, whether or not these systems lead to better environmental performance remains an open question. This study seeks to assess the possible connection between systems to manage environmental aspects and improved environmental performance. It also seeks to identify the factors determining the extent of the adopted system of management and the factors’ direct effects on environmental performance. For this empirical analysis, the study examines the extent of systems to manage environmental aspects employed by and the level of wastewater discharged by U.S. chemical manufacturing facilities during 2001.

Suggested Citation

  • Dietrich Earnhart, 2013. "Effect of Systems to Manage Environmental Aspects on Environmental Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-32, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:6:p:2557-2588:d:26330
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/6/2557/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/6/2557/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas, 2004. "Determinants of Environmental Innovations in Germany: Do Organizational Measures Matter? A Discrete Choice Analysis at the Firm Level," ZEW Discussion Papers 04-30, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Julia Hertin & Frans Berkhout & Marcus Wagner & Daniel Tyteca, 2008. "Are EMS environmentally effective? The link between environmental management systems and environmental performance in European companies," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(2), pages 259-283.
    3. Matthew Potoski & Aseem Prakash, 2005. "Covenants with weak swords: ISO 14001 and facilities' environmental performance," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 745-769.
    4. Gangadharan, Lata, 2006. "Environmental compliance by firms in the manufacturing sector in Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 477-486, October.
    5. Madhu Khanna & George Deltas & Donna Harrington, 2009. "Adoption of Pollution Prevention Techniques: The Role of Management Systems and Regulatory Pressures," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 44(1), pages 85-106, September.
    6. Sah, Raaj K, 1991. "Social Osmosis and Patterns of Crime," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(6), pages 1272-1295, December.
    7. Barla, Philippe, 2007. "ISO 14001 certification and environmental performance in Quebec's pulp and paper industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 291-306, May.
    8. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    9. Mary Evans & Lirong Liu & Sarah Stafford, 2011. "Do environmental audits improve long-term compliance? Evidence from manufacturing facilities in Michigan," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 279-302, December.
    10. Khanna Madhu & Widyawati Diah, 2011. "Fostering Regulatory Compliance: The Role of Environmental Self-Auditing and Audit Policies," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 125-160, May.
    11. Sarah L. Stafford, 2011. "Do Environmental Audits Improve Long-term Compliance? Evidence from Manufacturing Facilities in Michigan," Working Papers 117, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary.
    12. Nick Johnstone & Pascale Scapecchi & Bjarne Ytterhus & Rolf Wolff, 2004. "The firm, environmental management and environmental measures: Lessons from a survey of European manufacturing firms," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 685-707.
    13. Anton, W.R.Q.Wilma Rose Q. & Deltas, George & Khanna, Madhu, 2004. "Incentives for environmental self-regulation and implications for environmental performance," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 632-654, July.
    14. Rehfeld, Katharina-Maria & Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas, 2007. "Integrated product policy and environmental product innovations: An empirical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 91-100, February.
    15. Donna Ramirez Harrington & Madhu Khanna & George Deltas, 2008. "Striving to be green: the adoption of total quality environmental management," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(23), pages 2995-3007.
    16. Michael Greenstone, 2003. "Estimating Regulation-Induced Substitution: The Effect of the Clean Air Act on Water and Ground Pollution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 442-448, May.
    17. Abdoul Sam, 2010. "Impact of government-sponsored pollution prevention practices on environmental compliance and enforcement: evidence from a sample of US manufacturing facilities," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 266-286, June.
    18. T. Daddi & M. Magistrelli & M. Frey & F. Iraldo, 2011. "Do environmental management systems improve environmental performance? Empirical evidence from Italian companies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 13(5), pages 845-862, October.
    19. Dietrich Earnhart, 2004. "Panel Data Analysis of Regulatory Factors Shaping Environmental Performance," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 391-401, February.
    20. Julia Hertin & Frans Berkhout & Marcus Wagner & Daniel Tyteca, 2004. "Are 'soft' policy instruments effective? The link between environmental management systems and the environmental performance of companies," SPRU Working Paper Series 124, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    21. Dasgupta, Susmita & Hettige, Hemamala & Wheeler, David, 2000. "What Improves Environmental Compliance? Evidence from Mexican Industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 39-66, January.
    22. Abdoul G. Sam & Madhu Khanna & Robert Innes, 2009. "Voluntary Pollution Reduction Programs, Environmental Management, and Environmental Performance: An Empirical Study," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 85(4), pages 692-711.
    23. Earnhart, Dietrich, 2004. "Regulatory factors shaping environmental performance at publicly-owned treatment plants," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 655-681, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Earnhart, Dietrich & Harrington, Donna Ramirez, 2014. "Effect of audits on the extent of compliance with wastewater discharge limits," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 243-261.
    2. Earnhart, Dietrich & Mark Leonard, J., 2016. "Environmental audits and signaling: The role of firm organizational structure," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-22.
    3. Zach Raff & Dietrich Earnhart, 2020. "The effect of environmental enforcement on labor: environmental workers and production workers," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 118-133, April.
    4. Earnhart Dietrich & Harrington Donna Ramirez & Glicksman Robert, 2021. "The Effects of Enforcement on Corporate Environmental Performance: The Role of Perceived Fairness," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 71-118, March.
    5. Claudia Poser & Edeltraud Guenther & Marc Orlitzky, 2012. "Shades of green: using computer-aided qualitative data analysis to explore different aspects of corporate environmental performance," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 413-450, January.
    6. Harrington, Donna Ramirez, 2012. "Two-stage adoption of different types of pollution prevention (P2) activities," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 349-373.
    7. T. Daddi & M. Magistrelli & M. Frey & F. Iraldo, 2011. "Do environmental management systems improve environmental performance? Empirical evidence from Italian companies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 13(5), pages 845-862, October.
    8. Singh, Neelam & Jain, Suresh & Sharma, Prateek, 2015. "Motivations for implementing environmental management practices in Indian industries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1-8.
    9. Ziegler, Andreas & Seijas Nogareda, Jazmin, 2009. "Environmental management systems and technological environmental innovations: Exploring the causal relationship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 885-893, June.
    10. Dietrich Earnhart & Dylan G. Rassier, 2016. "“Effective regulatory stringency” and firms’ profitability: the effects of effluent limits and government monitoring," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 111-145, October.
    11. Zach Raff & Dietrich Earnhart, 2018. "Effect Of Cooperative Enforcement Strategies On Wastewater Management," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1357-1379, April.
    12. Earnhart, Dietrich & Friesen, Lana, 2017. "The Effects of Regulated Facilities' Perceptions About the Effectiveness of Government Interventions on Environmental Compliance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 282-294.
    13. Artitzar Erauskin‐Tolosa & Eugenio Zubeltzu‐Jaka & Iñaki Heras‐Saizarbitoria & Olivier Boiral, 2020. "ISO 14001, EMAS and environmental performance: A meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1145-1159, March.
    14. Alm, James & Shimshack, Jay, 2014. "Environmental Enforcement and Compliance: Lessons from Pollution, Safety, and Tax Settings," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 10(4), pages 209-274, December.
    15. Mary Evans & Lirong Liu & Sarah Stafford, 2011. "Do environmental audits improve long-term compliance? Evidence from manufacturing facilities in Michigan," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 279-302, December.
    16. Earnhart, Dietrich H. & Glicksman, Robert L., 2015. "Coercive vs. cooperative enforcement: Effect of enforcement approach on environmental management," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 135-146.
    17. Catalina SITNIKOV, 2012. "Environmental Responsibility Model Based On Iso 14000 Management Systems," Management and Marketing Journal, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(2), pages 317-324, November.
    18. Kumar, Surender & Shetty, Shivananda, 2018. "Corporate Participation in Voluntary Environmental Programs in India: Determinants and Deterrence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 1-10.
    19. Brouhle, Keith & Graham, Brad & Harrington, Donna Ramirez, 2013. "Innovation under the Climate Wise program," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 91-112.
    20. Kube, Roland & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Löschel, Andreas & Massier, Philipp, 2019. "Do voluntary environmental programs reduce emissions? EMAS in the German manufacturing sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:6:p:2557-2588:d:26330. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.