A Newsvendor Approach to Compliance and Production under Cap and Trade Emissions Regulation

Since the 1990s, governmental agencies have increasingly turned to market based cap and trade programs to control the emission of pollutants. Firms subject to cap and trade regulation are typically required to acquire emissions allowances via open auction markets. The cost to acquire allowances may impose a substantial financial burden on a firm. While emissions reduction efforts may eliminate some firm\u27s need to acquire additional allowances, there are still numerous firms that need to purchase additional allowances on the open market. This study presents a new forward buying heuristic, designed for those firms that need to purchase emissions allowances via auctions, which reduces the impact of emissions allowance acquisitions on the firms\u27 financial performance. The heuristic, designated as the Newsvendor Production Planning with Emissions Allowance Forward Buying (NPPAFB) method, applies a forward buying algorithm to determine the number of periods for which to forward buy allowances, the current production order up to level, and the current and future emissions allowance requirements (which serves as the order up to level for allowance purchases). Additionally, NPPAFB also authorizes unused emissions allowances to be sold when market conditions are favorable. Compared against three existing production planning and allowance procurement strategies, a simulation exercise finds that the NPPAFB method significantly reduces a firm\u27s emissions allowance expenditures. These results indicate that heuristic can be readily adopted by any firm that is required to procure emissions allowances via open markets in an effort to improve the firm\u27s profitability

The Relationship Between Environmental Efficiency and Manufacturing Firm’s Growth

This paper investigates the empirical link between emission intensity and economic growth, using a very large data set of 61,219 Italian manufacturing firms over the period 2000-2004. As a measure of lagged environmental performance (efficiency) at firm level we exploit NAMEA sector for CO2, NOx, SOx data over 1990-1999. The paper tests the extent to which (past) environmental efficiency/intensity, which is driven by structural features and firm strategic actions, including responses to policies, influences firms growth. Our results show, first, a typical trade off generally appearing for the three core environmental emissions we analyse: lower environmentally efficiency in the recent past allows higher degrees of freedom to firms and relax the constraints for growth, at least in this short/medium term scenario. Nevertheless, the size of the estimated coefficients is not large. Trade off are significant for two emission indicators out of two, but quite negligible in terms of impacts, besides the case of CO2. For example, growth is reduced by far less than 0.1% in association to a 1% increase of environmental efficiency. Environmental efficiency does not seem a primary cost factor and constraint to growth if compared to other factors affecting firm targets and firm competitiveness. In addition, non-linearity seems to characterise the economic growth-environmental performance relationship. Signals of inverted U shape appears: this may be a signal that both firm strategies and recent policy efforts are affecting the dynamic relationship between environmental efficiency and economic productivity, turning it from an usual trade off to a possible joint complementary/co-dynamics, where bad environmental performances hamper firm growth and investments in greener technologies may be associated to positive economic performances of firms and sectors.Firm growth, Manufacturing, Emission intensity, Economic performance, Environmental performance

A Risk-focused Performance Management System Framework for Planning Change in Organisations: New Zealand 'Gentailers' and the ETS

In 2007 the New Zealand government in principle adopted the implementation of a cap and trade emissions trading scheme (ETS) in the energy sector from 2010. The objective of this paper is to develop a risk-focused performance management system (PMS) planning framework for organisations undergoing externally-driven regulatory change that constrains their operating environment and increases business and operating risk exposure. This paper focuses on the New Zealand electricity generators and retailers (gentailers). It utilises contingency theory and secondary data to explain PMS change implications due to the altered business risk exposure potential of the proposed emissions trading regime and the associated carbon constraints this regulatory change imposes on these organisations' operating environment. The risk-focused PMS planning framework developed in this study allowed the identification of the drivers and attributes that due to the ETS adoption potentially have significant negative business risk impacts for some gentailers. The findings arising from the application of this risk-focused PMS framework to the New Zealand electricity gentailers suggest that the predominantly thermal-based generators will be more disadvantaged due to a reduction in competitiveness and profitability. This reduction is the result of the interaction between the ETS-related risks and the sources and types of external and internal environmental uncertainty associated with the regulatory change. The business risks identified not only influence organisational-level PMS design function and operation needs but also have economic consequences at sectoral and national levels particularly in relation to national security of electricity supply. The paper provides insights into an organisation's potential internal adjustments in response to increases in internal and external business risks due to the introduction of the ETS and changing wider environmental management expectations. Theory implications relate to the role and use of risk in improving the application of contingency theory in explaining organisational change under environmental pressures. Additionally the paper contributes to the management accounting research through the examination of the internalisation of externalities such as wider climate change management. Consequently the findings of this study will be of potential interest to academics managers accountants other professionals governments and policy-makers

Accounting for Sustainability in Asia: Stock Market Regulation and Reporting in Hong Kong and Singapore

10.1080/00130095.2018.1544461Economic Geography954362-38

Waste Generation, Incineration and Landfill Diversion. De-coupling Trends, Socio-Economic Drivers and Policy Effectiveness in the EU

Waste generation and waste disposal are issues that are becoming increasingly prominent in the environmental arena both from a policy perspective and in the context of delinking analysis. Waste generation is still increasing proportionally with income, and economic and environmental costs associated to landfilling are also increasing. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of waste generation, incineration, recycling and landfill dynamics based on panel data for the EU25, to assess the effects of different drivers (economic, structural, policy) and the eventual differences between western and eastern EU countries. We show that for waste generation there is still no Waste Kuznets Curve (WKC) trend, although elasticity to income drivers appear lower than in the past. Landfill and other policy effects do not seem to provide backward incentives for waste prevention. Regarding landfill and incineration, the two trends, as expected, are respectively decreasing and increasing, with policy providing a strong driver. It demonstrates the effectiveness of policy even in this early stage of policy implementation. This is essential for an ex post evaluation of existing landfill and incineration directives. Eastern countries appear to perform generally quite well, thus benefiting from their EU membership and related policies in terms of environmental performances. We may conclude that although absolute delinking is far from being achieved for waste generation, there are first positive signals in favour of an increasing relative delinking for waste generation and average robust landfill diversion, and various evidence of a significant role of the EU waste policies implemented in the late 1990s and early 2000s on landfill diversion. Waste prevention is nevertheless the next necessary target of waste regulatory efforts.Waste Kuznets Curves, Delinking, Waste Generation, Waste Disposal, Landfilling, Landfill Policies, Evaluation Methodology, Incineration

Towards sustainable shipping ­: the adoption of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the maritime container shipping industry

The shipping industry is of significant importance in achieving the global sustainable develop ment goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, also referred to as Agenda 2030. This paper sets out to determine the state of engagement to these goals by shipping com panies and to identify the main barriers and levers affecting the integration into their business. Reviewing sustainability reports from thirteen major container line operators for the financial year 2021 reveals a rather disappointing level of effort in response to the Agenda 2030 objec tives. Overall, the sector focuses on a few goals related to environmental impact, education, work and economic development (SDGs 13, 14, 8, 4). However, the analysis revealed an in substantial level of SDG engagement for the industry derived from the predominantly superfi cial nature of the disclosed information, the gap between intentions and actions taken, and the marginal use of specific progress assessments, performance indicators, and measurable targets. Supplementary interviews with industry experts confirmed moderate commitment driven by stakeholder expectations but limited attention to the SDGs, mainly for practical reasons. While stating a high probability of not achieving the defined longer­term targets, practitioners call for tightened and globally aligned environmental regulations of the sector, financial incentives for sustainability performance, suitable frameworks including KPIs and compulsory SDG­related reporting guidelines aligned to the industry. This empirical study sheds light on the commitment to the Agenda 2030 at the organizational level and contributes to the sparse literature on sector specific adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.O transporte marítimo tem uma importância significativa para se poder alcançar os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) adotados pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) em 2015, conhecidos como Agenda 2030. Este documento pretende determinar o grau de com promisso das empresas de navegação com esses objetivos e identifica as principais barreiras e impulsionadores que afetam seus negócios. A análise dos relatórios de sustentabilidade de treze grandes operadoras de linhas de contêineres em 2021 revela um esforço decepcionante em re lação aos objetivos da Agenda 2030. O setor geralmente concentra­se em alguns objetivos relacionados ao impacto ambiental, edu cação, trabalho e desenvolvimento econômico (ODS 13, 14, 8, 4). No entanto, a análise revela um envolvimento superficial com os ODS na indústria, com informações divulgadas predom inantemente superficiais, uma lacuna entre intenções e ações e um uso limitado de avaliações de progresso específicas, indicadores de desempenho e metas mensuráveis. As entrevistas suplementares realizadas a especialistas do setor confirmaram um compromisso moderado, impulsionado pelas expectativas das partes interessadas, mas uma atenção limitada aos ODS, principalmente por razões práticas. Embora afirmem uma alta probabilidade de não atingir as metas de longo prazo definidas, os profissionais pedem regulamentações ambientais mais rígidas e globalmente alinhadas para o setor, incentivos financeiros para o desempenho de sustentabilidade, estruturas de reporte adequadas, incluindo KPIs e diretrizes obrigatórias de relatórios relacionados com ODS. Este estudo empírico lança luz sobre o compromisso com a Agenda 2030 a nível organizacional e contribui para a escassa literatura sobre a adoção setorial dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável

Making the most of the G8+5 Climate Change Process: Accelerating Structural Change and Technology Diffusion on a Global Scale. CEPS Task Force Reports, 5 June 2008

Under the chairmanship of Gunnar Still, Senior Vice President and Head of Environment Division at ThyssenKrupp, CEPS organized a Task Force to explore possible initiatives within the context of the G8+5 dialogue on tackling climate change. This report identifies a number of concrete measures that could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while at the same time stimulating structural change and technology development and diffusion. It calls for supporting action-based approaches, which are essential to achieve the necessary reductions in GHG emissions, inform the post-2012 negotiations and address the most urgent issues such as surging energy demand and the need for clean energy technologies in emerging economies. An action-based approach can be regarded as a way of integrating targets and timetables, as they are agreed, with consistent and comparable policies and measures. With a view to a long-term climate strategy, this report attempts to present a portfolio of actions that can be implemented and accelerated on a global scale – especially in the G8+5 countries and the EU, and could become a basis on which developed and developing countries can cooperate

Supplier sustainability: A comprehensive review and future research directions

Sustainability is not a one-player task. Organizations have started to realize that their supply chains have a significant social and environmental impact, usually greater than their own operations, and managing sustainability at suppliers is crucial for supply chain-wide sustainability. Supplier sustainability management (SSM) research is fast evolving across multiple disciplines but lacks an interdisciplinary review to guage the progress made, and to decide the path forward. Heightened global focus on sustainability compels us to explore research avenues in SSM for meaningful progress. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of SSM research including the most recent work. We propose the Motivation-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Govern (MMAIG) framework for supplier sustainability, identify the limitations of current SSM research in enabling this framework, and propose future research directions. Our key observations are that (a) current SSM research is heavily focused on measuring and monitoring supplier sustainability, and (b) supplier sustainability improvement/development research is limited and the majority of it is about sustainable supplier selection. The future research directions that we propose are centered around (a) optimizing the investments towards supplier sustainability through collaboration, proposing mechanisms that consider risks, liabilities, and gains of all parties, and (b) considering behavioral aspects to overcome SSM implementation issues. Organizations can achieve efficient improvement in supplier sustainability by using a collaborative approach that is data-driven and trust-based. We discuss several mechanisms within our MMAIG framework that can help organizations in their collaborative approach