Robert B. Gibson – författare

For many industrial interests and governments in Canada and elsewhere, voluntary initiatives are the hot new way to win greener corporate behaviour. Such initiatives, the proponents say, are more efficient than the conventional regulatory approach and will bring significant environmental improvements while reducing corporate and government costs. Veteran environmentalist are suspicious. They see more interest in cost cutting than in environmental responsibility and anticipate a de-regulatory retreat back to the bad old days of backroom deals and reliance on corporate good will.There is also a third possibility. Voluntary initiatives could play a role in a new politics of corporate greening that embraces voluntarism but integrates this with full use of regulatory tools, public scrutiny, and other means of forcing and facilitating environmental improvements in the private sector.In Voluntary Initiatives, some of Canada's foremost experts and practitioners examine the experience of such initiatives so far, debate the promises and pitfalls, and consider implications for the future politics of corporate greening. In so doing they also begin to shed light on alternative models for political action.

Sustainability assessment is now emerging as a more transparent, comprehensive, integrated and far-sighted approach to decision making. Its basic demand is that all significant undertakings must make a positive contribution to sustainability. To apply this test, decision makers need criteria based on the core requirements of sustainability and the particularities of the context. As well, they need appropriately designed public processes; guidance on the weighing of alternatives, trade-offs and compromises; a supportive policy framework; suitable tools and inspiring examples. Drawing from transdisciplinary theory and practical case experience, the book addresses these matters and many of the surrounding controversies. While sustainability assessment must always be adjusted to particular circumstances, the generic approach set out in this book is applicable virtually anywhere.