Developing sustainable governance systems at the regional level : the case of emissions trading

As a consequence of the United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, the international community has effectively redefined environmental degradation as a problem that can be addressed by means of sustainable development. In turn, this places an onus on businesses to develop practices that reflect new norms of behaviour. This chapter offers an overview of current implementation of governance systems that relate to regional sustainability programmes and firms' activities. This work offers credibility to the field of sustainability research and practice by identifying and discussing all actors in the business community and how they interact with sustainability. This chapter looks at market-based sustainability initiatives, and, from a quality of governance perspective, investigates the strengths and weaknesses of two emissions trading schemes. It concludes with a series of reflections on market-based approaches to environmental problem solving.