Environment Sustainability

A critical role needs to be played by the government in order to shape the marketplace in promoting practices that are advantageous to the society. The right economics signals need to be sent to firms.

Environmental regulations can be implemented to decrease the usage of toxic chemicals. However it may not only attempt to protect the surrounding community and environment but also make businesses to save a lot of money. The toxics usage reduction Act of Massachusetts has force five hundred and fifty companies to assess the different options in decreasing the use of toxic. This action was supported by the government experts and university. The strategies hold the reduction in toxics use including products to be reformulated and material to be substituted. The result was that in no more than ten years the industry has been able to decrease toxic chemicals by 40%, the byproduct waste by 58% and 80% related to toxic emissions. When a financial analysis was made, it was revealed that those companies have saved approximately fourteen million dollars. This was for the reason that more efficient and safer processes were adopted. A notable example is Acushnet Rubber Company in New Bedford, a firm that designs and produces products for the automotive, electrical, safety and office machinery industries encounter an important reduction in cost by implementing an approach to the reduction of toxics use. A recommendation was made to the supplier of Acushnet for the replacement of the grease coating on metal components with a water based lubricant. As a matter fact its eliminated the use of neurotoxin and carcinogen trichloroethylene as a solvent to clean eighty per cent of its components. For the remaining 20%, Acushnet make use of a two-step aqueous cleaner to substitute TCE.

The relationship between performance and environmental regulation has been widely studied in the economics and business literature. Nevertheless, past empirical studies bypass the effects of two significant considerations when assessment was made to this relationship. How effective those regulations will be and the ability of the regulated to innovatively respond to them was not addressed. Indeed a recent study proved that a positive relationship do exist between environmental expenditure and performance. Put differently a much powerful relationship exists in areas where environmental regulations are more flexible and innovation moderates positively this relationship. Such finding was supported by sector level data from an industry of United Kingdom. Environmental regulations in the UK which are related with some corresponding studies in several contexts from several countries were reviewed. It was found that regulations on solid waste give businesses more flexibility and incentives in deciding on the usage of their expenditure in waste pollution in decreasing pollution level.

Regulations of air pollution in history began by categorizing technologies

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