Industrial Transformation Environmental Policy Innovation in the United States and Europe

The United States and European countries are experimenting with a new generation of policy approaches for combating environmental degradation. Industrial Transformation evaluates the effectiveness of twelve innovative voluntary, collaborative, and information-based programs, focusing particularly on the effectiveness of these programs in bringing about industrial transformation--changes in production and consumption structures that will help move their societies toward environmental sustainability. The twelve programs analyzed have the potential to create incentives for industry leadership, stimulate beyond-compliance behavior, address environmental degradation not currently regulated, and encourage innovative solutions by involving a wide range of stakeholders. The programs--six in the United States and six in Europe--include Energy Star product labeling in the United States, R&D collaboration in US Department of Energy programs, the US Toxic Release Inventories, the EU's Eco-Audit Regulation in the UK, the Dutch Target Group Policy, and the German End-of-Life Vehicles Program. The comparative analysis of the twelve programs proves that these new approaches are not a panacea for industrial transformation. Taken together, the cases provide a range of experience from which to draw lessons for future policy design.