 Enforcing the environment: regulatory realitiesStephen Fineman Business Strategy and the Environment, 2000, vol. 9, issue 1, 62-72 Abstract: This paper explores mandatory environmental regulation of industry through the eyes of the regulator. While there is much written about the salutary effects of environmental law on industry, we are only just beginning to appreciate how, in practice, this operates and the extent to which the regulatory official is a key actor in the process. The paper reports on a qualitative study of environmental agency officials – their values, their attitudes toward industrial operators, pressures from environmental groups and the manner in which they interpret and apply axioms of environmental law. Their technicist, ‘shallow green’ perspective is revealed as they attempt to make regulatory deals. Their interpretative discretion is considerable in the face of a highly ambiguous legal framework, and much uncertainty about the limits of their power. Major features of legislative control, such as towards sustainability, are regarded as unworkable, and prosecution is experienced as a blunt weapon. The implications of the findings for the regulatory official and for the wider role of mandatory regulation are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Date: 2000 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:9:y:2000:i:1:p:62-72 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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