What motivates employers to establish preventive arrangements? An examination of the case of supply chains

This paper examines existing evidence as to the factors that prompt organisations to utilise supply chains to influence how health and safety is managed within them, with a view to shedding light on how far it serves to confirm or challenge the view that in general employers are unlikely to voluntarily pursue preventive management initiatives in the absence of external regulatory pressures. The analysis reveals a range of initiatives undertaken to utilise supply chains to support improvements in health and safety management, both at the level of individual organisations and via trade and industry bodies. It also, however, indicates that while supply chains can be used to improve how health and safety is managed within them, only in relatively narrowly defined circumstances will market-based business motivations alone serve to encourage the utilisation of this potential. It is further concluded that if policy-makers wish to see supply chains used more widely to improve standards of health and safety standards, then they need to do more than merely encourage voluntary action in this regard

Behaviour and Climate Change: Consumer Perceptions of Responsibility

This paper explores the under-researched notion of consumer responsibility, a potentially significant influence on consumer behaviour that marketers and policymakers may be able to harness as they attempt to respond to environmental challenges such as climate change. The paper uses data derived from a commercially motivated survey (n = 1513) to explore domestic consumption behaviours most closely associated with the issue of disruptive climate change. A measure of 'General Environmental Responsiveness' (GER) is used to test: (1) the effects of consumers both taking responsibility for their actions and placing responsibility on others for the consequences of their consumption behaviour; and (2) whether sociodemographic variables can aid the targeting of consumers by the level and type of responsibility and pro-environmental behavioural intentions expressed. The study's findings demonstrate clear, if not strong, relationships between consumer conceptions of responsibilities for causing and tackling climate change and environment-related consumer behaviour. The study's implications both challenge accepted wisdom about environment-related consumer behaviour and suggest avenues for future research

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL DILEMMAS

Rapid economic growth in the Asian-Pacific region provides economic hope for the region's low-income countries but raises international environmental dilemmas and could be unsustainable. The strong international and Asian political support for Asia's economic growth often makes little mention of the environmental issues involved. The natural resources water, air, and soils as well as Asia's conservation of living resources and maintenance of biodiversity are important environmental issues. Tourism development-especially ecotourism-could combine economic development and conservation, but as Asian examples illustrate, it has limitations. Other environmental influences include the rapid urbanisation of Asia and the likelihood of increased international and transboundary conflicts over use of natural resources as economic growth in Asia proceeds. Markets and market reforms are not sufficient to deal with Asia's economic problems. Institutional and other reforms also are needed. One must reject the view that economic growth neglecting the environment is acceptable even in low-income countries. Polluting and degrading the environment now and repairing it later is a dangerous policy to follow, particularly for larger Asian countries. In fact, a strong case exists for high-income countries to support the environmental conservation efforts of low-income countries. Copyright 1995 Western Economic Association International.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Industrial and Sustainable Agriculture

International audienc