Kurt A. Strasser – författare

Many businesses profess to be voluntarily taking steps to protect the environment, and going beyond compliance with environmental regulations to do so. Kurt Strasser evaluates these claims in this timely and cutting-edge inquiry.

The author begins by analyzing whether firms with business environmentalism programs have better environmental performance records than others. He finds that the record is mixed and complex. Yet these kinds of programs are important, he argues, even if to date they have been only partially successful. He goes on to explore what policies should be adopted to promote and channel business environmentalism. The book concludes with a case study of the business community s efforts to mitigate climate change.

A nuanced look at an issue of growing concern, this volume will be of great value to anyone concerned with corporate social responsibility, whether it be from a law, business, NGO or government perspective.

Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Business Environmentalism: What are Companies Doing and How is it Working? 3. Why Business Environmentalism is Important to Environmental Policy 4. New Governance Theory and Business Environmentalism 5. Supporting Environmental Management Systems with Regulatory Rewards 6. Regulating Information About Business Environmentalism 7. Business Environmentalism and Climate Change the Elephant in the Room 8. Conclusion Bibliography Index

This book proposes a new approach to the government regulation of utilities. Arguing that traditional command-and-control regulation does not encourage efficient performance, Strasser and Kohler advocate the use of an incentive-based regulatory system and offer a practical, realistic strategy for the successful implementation of such plans within the context of utility regulation. The analysis is supported by a comprehensive survey of the relevant legal materials, an overview of the literature on organization theory and institutional economics, and a survey of the latest thinking on how incentives can most effectively be paid.Strasser and Kohler begin by identifying problems associated with current regulatory techniques, demonstrating that disincentives are often built into the regulatory system. When that system has tried incentives, the authors show they have been applied in an ad hoc manner, further exacerbating the problem. In presenting the case for incentive-based regulation, the authors review the history of comprehensive incentive plans, look at what organization theory can teach us about using incentives as a regulatory strategy, and explore the effective use of incentive compensation by nonregulated companies. Strasser and Kohler then develop a strategy for implementing incentive plans in regulated utilities, showing that, in order to work, the plans must include the installation of clearly defined bonuses and penalties, specific standards of performance, the payment of bonuses to managers rather than shareholders, and reliable and complete measures of company performance. Policymakers, economists, public utility regulators, and attorneys involved in the complex arena of utility regulation will find Regulating Utilities with Management Incentives indispensable reading.