Grantee Research Project Results
2005 Progress Report: Corporate Environmental Behavior: Examining the Effectiveness of Government Interventions and Voluntary Initiatives
EPA Grant Number: R831035Title: Corporate Environmental Behavior: Examining the Effectiveness of Government Interventions and Voluntary Initiatives
Investigators: Morgenstern, Richard , Pizer, Billy , Shih, Jhih-Shyang
Institution: Resources for the Future
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: June 1, 2003 through May 31, 2006
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 1, 2004 through May 31, 2005
Project Amount: $359,895
RFA: Corporate Environmental Behavior: Examining the Effectiveness of Government Interventions and Voluntary Initiatives (2002) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice
Objective:
Over the past decade, voluntary programs have played an increasingly important role in environmental management and pollution control. Recent plans by the government to enhance the nation’s voluntary greenhouse gas registry suggest that this trend may be accelerating. Yet existing voluntary programs—several of which have a track record dating back a decade or more—have been subject to only limited empirical evaluations. Among these evaluations, most rely on gross comparisons of emission outcomes between participants and nonparticipants that likely are to be biased; the decision to participate may not be random (e.g., exogenous) and, in particular, may be correlated with the outcomes. For example, firms in declining industries might be represented disproportionately among participants in a voluntary emission reduction program, but it would be inappropriate to attribute emission reductions related to an industry’s decline to the voluntary program. The objective of this research project is to identify several factors influencing the success of voluntary programs. The voluntary programs to be studied in this research include 33/50, Climate Wise, and 1605(b).
Progress Summary:
During Year 3 of the project, we: (1) finalized the contract with the Census Bureau; (2) matched the list of Climate Wise participants obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Census data based on name and zip code; (3) developed a matched sample of facilities from Census data based on location, industry, and size using a propensity score approach; and (4) conducted the initial examination of patterns of energy use between the two groups. Based on the initial comparisons, no statistically significant differences in energy use were observed.
Future Activities:
The goal for the upcoming period is to refine the initial analysis of the Climate Wise program along a number of dimensions. Specifically, we will develop a new matched sample based on the growth rate of energy use, in addition to the other factors previously considered (location, industry, size). We also will correct a problem with matched corporate participants. We then will compare the energy use patterns of this new sample to those of the Climate Wise participants. We will do this not only using the regression model in the preliminary results but also pairwise difference-in-difference estimators over various year combinations.
In addition, we will implement a second, Heckman-Hotz, modeling approach to address selection bias. Such an approach requires, as an identifying assumption, a variable that is believed to influence selection into the program but not the outcome directly. Following examples in the literature, we plan to use the (observed) distance of the facilities from federal EPA regional offices.
After completion of the Climate Wise analysis, we will turn our attention to the analysis of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 1605(b) program. We expect that matching the DOE data to Census information will be more efficient given our experience with the Climate Wise data and the more extensive address information in 1605(b). Following the matching, we will conduct a series of comparisons of energy use, similar to those performed for Climate Wise. Time and resources permitting, we then will turn our attention to an analysis of EPA’s 33/50 program.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 16 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
voluntary programs, participation models, emission levels, environmental behavior, environmental performance, plant emissions, plant-level analysis, policy analysis, Longitudinal Research Database, Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey, 1605(b) program, 33/50, Climate Wise program,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, Atmosphere, decision-making, Air Pollution Effects, Social Science, Economics and Business, Corporate Performance, climate change, business-led environmental management, environmental behavior, environmental performance, plant emissions, voluntary programs, air pollution policy, pollution prevention, plant-level analysis, policy analysis, environmental monitoring, corporate environmental behavior, environmental decision making, participation model, impact of federal policy instruments, environmental compliance determinants, management participation, decision analysis, emission levels, government interventionRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.