New Tools for Environmental Protection Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures (2002) / Chapter Skim
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13. Government-Sponsored Voluntary Programs for Firms: An Initial Survey
13. Government-Sponsored Voluntary Programs for Firms: An Initial Survey
Pages 219-234
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From page 219... ...
and industrial trade organizations such as the American Chemistry Council. As of 1998, more than 7,000 corporations, small businesses, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations participated in public voluntary and negotiated programs administered by the EPA, according to the agency's most recent estimates (U.S.
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Another section pairs assessment data developed by implementing regulatory agencies with independent studies to describe the performance of three prominent voluntary initiatives: Green Lights, the 33/50 program, and Project XL.
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Voluntary programs, including 33/50 and Green Lights, were first popularized under the former Bush Administration to promote more market-oriented incentives for environmental performance. Today, most of the EPA's voluntary programs are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to adopt voluntary goals established under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990.
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11. Green Lights (1991)
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POLLUTION CONTROL LAWS IMPEDE IMPLEMENTATION In theory, the primary disadvantage of VAs arises from the collective nature of their benefits participants have a strong incentive to act as free-riders. Voluntary agreements also may act to exclude competitors and restrain trade.
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For example, at Intel's XL effort in Arizona, local participants agreed to provide Intel with relief from air permitting requirements in exchange for a set of binding and voluntary environmental commitments. The local community supported the plan.
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Green Lights The experience of the Green Lights program illustrates best uncertainties surrounding VA program measurement and performance. The EPA reports that 2,300 Green Lights participants have experienced rates of return of up to 50 percent (see Table 13-2~.
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Finally, GAO found evidence to suggest that a substantial amount of floor space was upgraded before the Green Lights program was well established. GAO based its findings on a national survey of commercial buildings conducted by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA)
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By this method, the EPA found that participants reduced the targeted chemicals by 590 million pounds in 1991 and by 757 million pounds in 1994. In 1995, releases and transfers for the 17 target chemicals totaled 664 million pounds, a 55.6-percent reduction from the program's 1988 baseline.
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The binding, enforceable air permit is part of a larger package of Project XL commitments to reduce water use and waste generation at the company's newest manufacturing facility in Phoenix. The air permit covers emissions of conventional and hazardous air pollutants at Intel' s new facility, and gives the manufacturer the ability to construct an additional manufacturing facility without having to secure a new permit.
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Nonlocal environmental groups objected to the use of this baseline measure, claiming that it failed to constitute environmental performance "superior" to the status quo. National environmental groups encouraged the EPA to develop an industry air emissions benchmark against which to compare how well the Intel facility actually performed.
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Although it is difficult to isolate the effects of the XL air permit with precision, analyses of such effects can provide suggestive evidence on the social welfare effects of the XL agreement. CONCLUSIONS VA assessment is hampered by program novelty, lack of data, and weak metering and evaluation methods.
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In contrast to public voluntary efforts, negotiated agreements contain specific targets and are legally binding. 4 The 19-percent figure is relative to releases and transfers only from participating firms, not total 1991 releases and transfers.
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Boyd, and T van Dril 1996 Demand Side Efficiency: Voluntary Agreements with Industry.
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2. 33/50 Program Established by the EPA in 1991, 33/50 is the first major public voluntary pollution reduction initiative in the United States.
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