 Regulation, self‐regulation and environmental consensus: lessons from the UK packaging waste experienceSally Eden Business Strategy and the Environment, 1997, vol. 6, issue 4, 232-241 Abstract: This paper uses the case study of UK packaging waste policy to illustrate the problems of developing environmental self‐regulation. In July 1993, the UK Secretary of State for the Environment ‘challenged’ British business to organise and run a self‐regulatory scheme to recover between 50 and 75 per cent of packaging waste by 2000. But the response was dogged by differences of opinion within business and a lack of political will from business and government. Consequently, the businesses approached to develop this scheme declared self‐regulation unworkable and lobbied government to introduce national legislation. This case study suggests that self‐regulation works best where it fits the status quo by formalising existing practices or encourages incremental change to those practices. Where major changes to the status quo are needed, self‐regulation may founder because it fails to bind together diverse sectors and companies which are differentially threatened by those changes and thereby fails to ensure voluntary compliance. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Date: 1997 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:6:y:1997:i:4:p:232-241 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Business Strategy and the Environment is currently edited by Richard Welford More articles in Business Strategy and the Environment from Wiley Blackwell |
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