PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sam, Abdoul G.
AU  - Khanna, Madhu
AU  - Innes, Robert
TI  - Voluntary Pollution Reduction Programs, Environmental Management, and Environmental Performance: An Empirical Study
AID  - 10.3368/le.85.4.692
DP  - 2009 Nov 01
TA  - Land Economics
PG  - 692--711
VI  - 85
IP  - 4
4099  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/85/4/692.short
4100  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/85/4/692.full
SO  - Land Econ2009 Nov 01; 85
AB  - This paper examines, empirically, the mechanism by which a voluntary pollution reduction program (VPR) achieves pollution reductions. We find that participation in the 33/50 program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first VPR, spurred the adoption of total quality environmental management (TQEM), an environmental management system that views pollution as a quality defect to be continuously reduced through the development of products and processes that minimize waste generation at source. We find in turn that TQEM had a significant negative effect on 33/50 releases and that 33/50 participation produced additional direct pollution reduction benefits both during and after the program years. (JEL C23, Q58)