IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v12y2004i3p136-149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Risk, regulation and the right to know: exploring the impacts of access to information on the governance of environmental risk

Author

Listed:
  • Andy Gouldson

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)

Abstract

Within the context of broader debates on the potential of more open, inclusive and deliberative approaches to decision-making, this paper examines the influence that enhanced access to environmental information has had on the governance of industry in the UK. After considering the extent to which information on emissions from industrial sites is practicably accessible to stakeholders, it examines the strategies that the different actors have adopted as a response to the provision of enhanced access to environmental information. In so doing, it highlights the pros and cons of greater transparency and more open engagement from the perspective of regulators, industry, community and pressure groups. It then assesses the impacts of access to information, both on the governance networks through which the different actors interact in an attempt to influence the emissions of the chemicals sector and on the environmental outcomes associated with these networks. It concludes that the provision of access to information has been associated with the emergence of new forms of engagement between regulators, industry and stakeholder groups and that this has coincided with (but has not been the main cause of) dramatic improvements in the environmental performance of the associated firms. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Andy Gouldson, 2004. "Risk, regulation and the right to know: exploring the impacts of access to information on the governance of environmental risk," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 136-149.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:12:y:2004:i:3:p:136-149
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.237
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/sd.237
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.237?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Konar, Shameek & Cohen, Mark A., 1997. "Information As Regulation: The Effect of Community Right to Know Laws on Toxic Emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 109-124, January.
    2. A Irwin & P Simmons & G Walker, 1999. "Faulty Environments and Risk Reasoning: The Local Understanding of Industrial Hazards," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(7), pages 1311-1326, July.
    3. Clive L Spash, 2001. "Broadening Democracy in Environmental Policy Processes," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 19(4), pages 475-481, August.
    4. Jeffrey C. Terry & Bruce Yandle, 1997. "EPA's toxic release inventory: stimulus and response," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(6), pages 433-442.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Michael Dobler & Kaouthar Lajili & Daniel Zéghal, 2014. "Environmental Performance, Environmental Risk and Risk Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Rory Sullivan & Andy Gouldson, 2007. "Pollutant release and transfer registers: examining the value of government‐led reporting on corporate environmental performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(5), pages 263-273, December.
    3. Rory Sullivan & Andy Gouldson, 2017. "The Governance of Corporate Responses to Climate Change: An International Comparison," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 413-425, May.
    4. Andy Gouldson & Rory Sullivan & Stavros Afionis, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and the governance of business," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 35, pages 564-576, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Andy Gouldson & Rory Sullivan, 2014. "Understanding the Governance of Corporations: An Examination of the Factors Shaping UK Supermarket Strategies on Climate Change," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(12), pages 2972-2990, December.
    6. Maria Vittoria Franceschelli & Gabriele Santoro & Elisa Giacosa & Roberto Quaglia, 2019. "Assessing the determinants of performance in the recycling business: Evidence from the Italian context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1086-1099, September.
    7. Ron Johnston & Brett Christophers & Naonori Kodate, 2010. "Reviews: Numbers Rule: The Vexing Mathematics of Democracy from Plato to the Present, Genres of the Credit Economy: Mediating Value in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain, Site Fights: Divisive," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(8), pages 2031-2036, August.
    8. Aarti Gupta, 2010. "Transparency to What End? Governing by Disclosure through the Biosafety Clearing House," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 28(1), pages 128-144, February.
    9. Reinhard Steurer, 2013. "Disentangling governance: a synoptic view of regulation by government, business and civil society," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 46(4), pages 387-410, December.
    10. Mei-Fang Fan, 2008. "Environmental citizenship and sustainable development: the case of waste facility siting in Taiwan," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(6), pages 381-389.
    11. Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), 2014. "Handbook of Sustainable Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15312.
    12. Ateeq ur Rehman Irshad & Nabeel Safdar & Zahid Irshad Younas & Wajiha Manzoor, 2023. "Impact of Corporate Governance on Firms’ Environmental Performance: Case Study of Environmental Sustainability-Based Business Scenarios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-12, May.
    13. Gouldson, Andy, 2008. "Understanding business decision making on the environment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4618-4620, December.

    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. Rory Sullivan & Andy Gouldson, 2007. "Pollutant release and transfer registers: examining the value of government‐led reporting on corporate environmental performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(5), pages 263-273, December.
    2. Scott Marchi & James Hamilton, 2006. "Assessing the Accuracy of Self-Reported Data: an Evaluation of the Toxics Release Inventory," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 57-76, January.
    3. Andy Gouldson & Rory Sullivan, 2007. "Corporate environmentalism: tracing the links between policies and performance using corporate reports and public registers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, January.
    4. Dorit Kerret & George M. Gray, 2007. "What Do We Learn from Emissions Reporting? Analytical Considerations and Comparison of Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 203-223, February.
    5. Kathryn Harrison & Werner Antweiler, 2003. "Incentives for pollution abatement: Regulation, regulatory threats, and non-governmental pressures," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(3), pages 361-382.
    6. Coria, Jessica & Sterner, Thomas, 2008. "Tradable Permits in Developing Countries: Evidence from Air Pollution in Santiago, Chile," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-51, Resources for the Future.
    7. Julien Jacob & Eve-Angéline Lambert & Mathieu Lefebvre & Sarah Driessche, 2023. "Information disclosure under liability: an experiment on public bads," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 61(1), pages 155-197, July.
    8. Linda T. M. Bui & Christopher J. Mayer, 2003. "Regulation and Capitalization of Environmental Amenities: Evidence from the Toxic Release Inventory in Massachusetts," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(3), pages 693-708, August.
    9. Stavins, Robert, 2001. "Lessons From the American Experiment With Market-Based Environmental Policies," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-53, Resources for the Future.
    10. Maxwell, John W & Lyon, Thomas P & Hackett, Steven C, 2000. "Self-Regulation and Social Welfare: The Political Economy of Corporate Environmentalism," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 583-617, October.
    11. Tang, John P., 2015. "Pollution havens and the trade in toxic chemicals: Evidence from U.S. trade flows," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 150-160.
    12. Fraas, Art & Egorenkov, Alex, 2015. "A Retrospective Study of EPA’s Air Toxics Program under the Revised Section 112 Requirements of the Clean Air Act," RFF Working Paper Series dp-15-23, Resources for the Future.
    13. Belay, Dagim G. & Jensen, Jørgen D., 2020. "‘The scarlet letters’: Information disclosure and self-regulation: Evidence from antibiotic use in Denmark," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    14. Rafia Afrin & Ni Peng & Frances Bowen, 2022. "The Wealth Effect of Corporate Water Actions: How Past Corporate Responsibility and Irresponsibility Influence Stock Market Reactions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 105-124, September.
    15. Eng, Li Li & Fikru, Mahelet G. & Vichitsarawong, Thanyaluk, 2021. "The impact of toxic chemical releases and their management on financial performance," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    16. Dasgupta, Susmita & Hong, Jong Ho & Laplante, Benoit & Mamingi, Nlandu, 2006. "Disclosure of environmental violations and stock market in the Republic of Korea," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 759-777, July.
    17. Stavins, Robert & Hahn, Robert & Cavanagh, Sheila, 2001. "National Environmental Policy During the Clinton Years," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-38, Resources for the Future.
    18. Managi, Shunsuke & Okimoto, Tatsuyoshi & Matsuda, Akimi, 2012. "Do Socially Responsible Investment Indexes Outperform Conventional Indexes?," MPRA Paper 36662, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Stavins, Robert, 2004. "Environmental Economics," RFF Working Paper Series dp-04-54, Resources for the Future.
    20. Stefan Ambec & Paul Lanoie, 2007. "When and Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Working Papers 2007s-20, CIRANO.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:sustdv:v:12:y:2004:i:3:p:136-149. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.