Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is taking place in diverse forms, and SEA requirements vary considerably from one nation to the next. While the true measure of effectiveness of SEA is its influence on decision output and policy, plan and program (PPP) outcomes, an effective SEA requires a quality assessment process. This paper suggests that there is no generic set of audit criteria that is appropriate for evaluating the quality of all SEA applications. Auditing SEA quality performance requires criteria that reflect the guidelines and procedural requirements of the institutional arrangements within which SEA is practised. Based on a proposed set of SEA quality performance criteria for Canada, this paper presents the findings of an audit of five national-level Canadian SEA applications.

This paper explores the relationship between corporate environmental reporting and share price performance amongst companies in two industry groups listed on the UK FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange) 100 as of the 30th July 2001. The hypothesis tested is that the production of good quality corporate environmental reports (CERs) benefits company share price, by demonstrating to investors an awareness of risk, liability, legislation and opportunities as well as providing a collection of policy, impacts, temporal trends, targets and commitment.

Some other studies in this area have concluded that a positive relationship exists between corporate environmental management and performance (including environmental reporting) and share value. The results of this paper differ however, and show that on average, the production of environmental reports by FTSE100 companies (in the energy and utilities and financial services sectors) has not lead to improved historical share price performance when compared to non-reporting companies, although there is strong evidence for reduced volatility of share price. Results for sector performance varied from those obtained from individual company level. The two companies assessed as producing the best reports in their industry sector outperformed both the FTSE100 benchmark, and many of their competitors for the five-year period studied.

Whilst there are many benefits to be gained by listed companies through environmental reporting, such as enhancing image and improving public and investor opinion, a positive attitude to the environment, as demonstrated through environmental reporting, can provide an indication of a truly strategic approach to business. Yet there are so many factors involved, it is not possible from the results to conclude that environmental reporting supports share value.

Economic transition has significant implications for environmental regulation; however, the linkages between them have received little attention in the research literature or in governmental studies until very recently. The paper examines the impacts of economic transition on environmental regulation in China. It first reviews the normative and structural features of China's economic transition. It then analyzes their broad impacts on environmental regulation in China in terms of environmental regulatory instruments losing effectiveness, intervention by local governments, trans-boundary environmental problems, conflict of interests for environmental regulators, massive resistance from the regulated, and some positive impacts. It finally draws prospects for environmental regulation in China in the context of further economic transition. The paper argues that the economic transition in China has produced mixed impacts on its environmental regulation, and that the future prospects for environmental regulation under further economic transition are also mixed.

An index of environmental sensitivity performance (IESP) is constructed in order to measure and quantify the comparative environmental sensitivity of countries. The main emphasis of IESP is to obtain an overall measure of sensitiveness instead of focusing on various indicators designed for particular environmental issues. The sub-indices, however, can also be utilised for specific environmental concerns. IESP is built to analyse empirically certain economic relationships that appeared firstly in the emergence of environmental regulations in industrial nations and secondly, in the debate over recent international agreements.

The main findings of the IESP seem to be consistent with the disputes emphasising the growing sensitivity of the developed nations towards the industrial pollution relative to the developing nations. With a very few exceptions, developed countries appear to be stringent in the pursuit of the industrial environmental regulations. This general trend, which is consistent with the theoretical expectations, contributes to the value of the IESP as a quantitative instrument. Furthermore, the wider range of the countries' index values can be considered as promising in terms of utilising IESP in quantitative applications.

This paper attempts to adapt the value-focused thinking approach to the decision problems in the field of environmental management of buildings construction. A qualitative value model based on the results of life cycle assessment is presented. The model is applied on a case study in which a decision should be made on three types of roof structures: wood, steel and concrete. It is found that the roof structure made of wood is the most compatible option with respect to the environmental requirements of buildings construction. Thus, the value-focused thinking model can be used in different situations to analyze what management actions will be most effective to maximise the fulfillment of the environmental requirements of building standards.