TY - JOUR T1 - Voluntary Pollution Reduction Programs, Environmental Management, and Environmental Performance: An Empirical Study JF - Land Economics JO - Land Econ SP - 692 LP - 711 DO - 10.3368/le.85.4.692 VL - 85 IS - 4 AU - Abdoul G. Sam AU - Madhu Khanna AU - Robert Innes Y1 - 2009/11/01 UR - http://le.uwpress.org/content/85/4/692.abstract N2 - 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) ER -