Environmental regulation and competitive advantage: a study of packaging waste in the European supply chain

Book abstract:

This study focuses in detail on the environmental compliance/competitiveness relationship with respect to the regulation of packaging waste. Compliance with environmental regulations can be seen as one of the factors influencing the relative competitiveness of EU enterprises. The focus of the research reported here is on the effect of the competitiveness of individual firms of adjustment to environmental legislation and to environmental pressures arising from customers and suppliers. The entire chain is examined here: packaging suppliers, food processors and the food retail sector, to study the effects of environmental standards on competitiveness. The countries studied are Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, which provide a variety of regulatory regimes.

The chapters include a study of the relationship between environmental performance and company competitiveness; an overview of the relevant environmental regulations; an examination of the structure of European food packaging, food processing and food retailing industries; the various initiatives in this area; plant performance; waste costs and regulation. Conclusions from the research are then presented, showing that there is little evidence to support the theory that the regulation of packaging waste through environmental policy leads either to a loss or to an improvement in a firm's competitiveness, mainly because the cost of compliance is relatively insignificant compared to other factors which influence the competitive performance of firms. Lengthy appendices to the book detail the environmental regulations in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Germany and Italy and contain descriptions of environmental initiatives taken and examples of effects of various changes on the dairy and drinks industries, the retail sector, and the packaging industries.