Environmental Regulation and its Effect on Competition

Résumé du document

The following text provides a brief discussion of the development of new technologies and how they affect the environment. After explaining the effects, the focus shifts to response mechanisms, which the society has created, to limit the impact of innovations on environmental factors. These include both government responses, through the regulation of emissions, waste disposal, and the use of toxic chemicals, as well as public responses through defense groups, and the effects of each of them. Finally, the study evaluates how these response mechanisms affect the competitiveness of enterprises and nations as a whole and whether the increasing necessity for organizations to be "green?, is sustainable in a modern, capitalist economy.

Extraits

[...] The process resulted in the creation of new and more efficient methods and components for products in many related sectors. These new components proved both more efficient and cheaper in many cases, while also producing no harmful emissions, thus providing support for Porter's argument (Porter and Van Der Linde 1995). This example demonstrates the progressive abilities of technology when addressed to environmental problems appropriately. However, it also demonstrates the dangers of utilising products that have not been tested properly, and enforces the need to maintain an induced innovation approach to R&D to prevent a similar situation occurring again. [...]

[...] This issue is of crucial importance, as the issue of the sustainability of resources is growing in importance with many of the world's natural reserves beginning to decline. Currently, a topic of heightened discussion is that of wind farms. The first wind turbine was produced in 1888 in Cleveland, Ohio. However, it was not until the consistent lobbying from environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to innovate new environmentally friendly methods of energy production during the 1990's that innovators began to focus their attention. Continuous development of wind turbines means that this renewable energy source is becoming a viable method of energy production. [...]

[...] It does not state specific environmental performance criteria but describes the core requirements for environmental management necessary for certification. Whilst voluntary, the usage of regulations such as the ISO 14001 are often encouraged by actors throughout the supply chain, making compliance necessary to maintain a competitive edge. A further current area of regulation concerns carbon trading. In January 2005, the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) allocated allowances for the amount of carbon dioxide all enterprises, which use over 20KW/hour, are allowed to emit. [...]

[...] Knowledge is distinguished from equipment and other tangible assets on the basis of a much larger variance on the expected returned from investment, and a low probability of success coupled with very high value added potential outcomes (Scherer et al. 2000). The difficulty for this, more efficient and environmentally friendlier, method is found in securing funding for such long-term investments. Such difficulty has often led to general under-investment in many circumstances, such as with Rover (BBC, 2005). Companies also fear the theft of new processes or products from competitors, and are thus often reserved as to how much to they are willing to invest (Jaffe et al. [...]

[...] Either way, regulation has existed for many years in the developed world and companies have continued to stay in business through technological innovations, and most will do so for the foreseeable future. References 3M UK Plc (2000). Environmental Health and Safety Report 2000 Working Towards a Sustainable Future. Available online at http://www.bl.uk/pdf/eis/3muk2000is.pdf#search='3m%20solvents%20environment' [Accessed 03/04/05] Anonymous (2003). Science and Technology: The spoils of war; The environment. The Economist. 366; Bamford, D. (2003). Pouring cold Water on Kyoto. BBC Online, 12th December 2003. [...]