"This study focuses in detail on the environmental compliance/competitiveness relationship with respect to the regulation of packaging waste. An important and innovative feature of the study is its emphasis on backward and forward linkages. An entire supply chain is considered: packaging manufacturers and suppliers, food processors and the food retail sector, to study the competitiveness effects of environmental standards on manufacturing companies and the vertical links and supply responses. A variety of regulatory regimes is represented by including within the study companies from Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
While it is of note that the relatively strong regulation in Germany has indeed has effects on company behaviour, there is no evidence that environmental regulations hindered companies from achieving competitive performance."--Jacket.
