A review of international practice in the design of voluntary Pollution Prevention Programs

Voluntary approaches to industry-wide pollution prevention programs have gained a global impetus. Despite this impetus relatively little research has been undertaken into identifying key features of successful programs. This research identified these features by reviewing selected programs in five countries, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nine key features have been identified, namely: Adequate and consistent funding; Collaborative relationship with industry; Single sector program focus; Setting credible goals; Info-regulation and resources available; Threat of credible enforcement; Regular and credible monitoring; Visible participant benefits; and, Transparent provision of program results. The research complements other work and while showing a high level of similarity in the features, provided also for the inclusion of two further design features, namely ‘adequate and consistent funding’, and developing a maintaining a ‘collaborative relationship with industry’. It is suggested that the nine design features alone, while important, are insufficient and that further research is required to identify these other supporting factors.