Title: Environmental management legislation and competitiveness: case studies from Brazil, Germany, Italy and the UK

Authors: Terry Tudor; Tania Nunes Da Silva; Mentore Vaccari; Cleber Dutra; Sindy Banga; Thomas Guidat

Addresses: Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK; Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy ' Escola de Administração, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre RS, Brazil ' Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy ' Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany ' Faculty of Health and Society, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK ' Institut für Werkzeugmaschinen und Fabrikbetrieb (IWF), Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Abstract: Globally, consumption and production levels have risen markedly in recent decades. These rises have led to costs/externalities (e.g., pollution and production of waste). Environmental regulations are employed as a means of controlling and managing these externalities. Using Germany, Italy, Brazil and the UK as case study countries, this study sought to examine the manner in which environmental regulations impacted upon business competitiveness within selected sectors. The results suggest that environmental regulations did impact upon competitiveness (as measured by levels of innovation). However, this influence varied within and between countries, and sectors, with for example, a higher impact in Germany, and within the manufacturing and construction sectors. The key implications for these findings are also discussed.

Keywords: business competitiveness; environmental legislation; sustainability; greenhouse gas emissions; innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2017.085353

International Journal of Business Environment, 2017 Vol.9 No.2, pp.182 - 199

Received: 07 Apr 2017
Accepted: 07 Apr 2017

Published online: 23 Jul 2017 *

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