Types of VEAs. A comprehensive categorization of various voluntary approaches provided by Croci (2005) includes voluntary public schemes, negotiated agreements, unilateral com- mitments, unilateral commitments recognized by the P.A., third party initiatives, and private agreements. The concepts of the six voluntary approaches are presented in FIGURE 2. Voluntary public schemes •Developed by regulators •Open for companies •Participants gain administrative, economic or information access benefits Negotiated agreements •Formed between the public and private parties •Open for more participants •Environmental objectives are agreed by both parties Unilateral committments •Considered a VEA only under certain circumstances e.g. approval by the regulator •The VEA and its targets are set by the industry •A self-regulation Unilateral committments recognized by the P.A •P.A. can perform monitoring •P.A. can set guidelines for implementation Third party initiatives •Designed by third parties •Open for participation Private agreements •Reached through direct bargaining between polluter and pollutees •No public intervention FIGURE 2 Voluntary approaches with characteristics of VEAs (Croci, 2005) Dutch Green Deals, the CPGD in particular (negotiated agreements) and WRAP’s agreements (third party initiatives) are subject of the study. Voluntary public schemes are designed by regulators and provide companies the opportunity to participate. The participation can be limited geographically, industrially, or technologically. Participants in the schemes might acquire per- mits easier, avoid strict monitoring, and get taxation benefits, training or tech- nical assistance. In case of non-compliance, participating firms may be excluded from the program. Similarly to Croci (2005), Lyon and Xxxxxxx (2003) point out that the involved companies benefit from technical assistance and positive pub- licity from the government. The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and various eco-labels are examples of voluntary public schemes. (Croci, 2005) Participants in the negotiated agreements commit to achieving certain envi- ronmental targets which are negotiated and approved by both the companies and the regulator. According to Xxxxx (2002), negotiated agreements have three func- tions – bridging (a step to further legislation), supporting (support the implemen- tation of legislative requirements) and independent (agreements used instead of legislation). Similarly to the voluntary public schemes, t...
