ChemSec report released on how companies "cry wolf" in the face of new environmental laws
Companies and trade organisations frequently tell politicians that stricter environmental legislation would harm the economy significantly – but such claims have repeatedly been proven wrong. This is shown in the ChemSec report Cry wolf.
13.01.2015 |ChemSec (International Chemical Secretariat)
But this is a false warning – research shows that it is not the case. Rather, the cost for industry to adapt to environmental policies has decreased since the 1990s, and industry has managed well with adjusting their operations to new regulations.
– Industry overestimating the costs of complying with environmental laws is a major obstacle to implementing new laws to protect health and environment. This is a systematically used strategy that can also be relevant to take into account today, for example in the on-going debate about the TTIP trade agreement between the EU and US. Other current examples are the EU process to develop criteria for Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, as well as the implementation of the authorisation part of the REACH regulation, comments Theresa Kjell, ChemSec Policy Advisor.
The lessons presented in the report point towards three main problems with industry's response to proposed green regulations: the cost models used are too static and limited, the cost reductions when complying with several regulations at the same time are ignored and the benefits of adapting are underestimated.
Cry Wolf Press Release (pdf)
Cry Wolf – Predicted costs by industry in the face of new environmental regulations (pdf)
Related News
Getting to the Future We Want
4-7 November, Brussels: European Environmental Bureau’s (EEB) Annual Conference
12.11.2018
Human Biomonitoring for Europe
Vienna, 26 September: stakeholder forum
28.09.2018
A life without plastic, wouldn't it be fantastic?!
Interview with Charlotte Schueler of @PlastikfreiLeben, who lives a zerowaste life in Munich, Germany and shares her experiences to her 25.2 thousand followers on instagram & 37.2 thousand followers on facebook
14.09.2018
Calling for periods free from plastic & hazardous chemicals
Letter to Frédérique Ries, MEP, European Parliament on behalf of the #BreakFreeFromPlastics movement
04.09.2018