Work Package 5

EMPIRE - Environmental regulation and Market-forces Providing Incentives for Resource Efficiency

Consortium members:
  • CESISP (Centre for the Development of Product Sustainability)
  • Utrecht University
  • CARMA (Regional Animation Centre on Advanced Materials)
Brief overview of the project:

The project aims at studying the interplay between environmental regulation and market forces with respect to the building and construction industry. Its methodological approach aims at enriching the ongoing debate on the links between environment and market forces by way of a thorough and in-depth assessment, on one hand, of the effects of environmental policies on competitiveness and, on the other hand, of the impact of these policies on the behaviour of companies and consumers, specifically related to the building sector.

Outputs:

A first part of the study will describe the different ways of defining and measuring the effects of environmental regulation on market forces, synthesize the most recent knowledge on the relationship between environment and competitiveness and market dynamics, as well as produce an in depth analysis of the most recent empirical studies.
Then, the project will provide a general overview of policies, with specific attention to regulatory and non-regulatory incentives, in place in different EU Member States, covering issues of resource management and protection. More specifically, the main legislation regulating pollution and resource-use will be detailed in the analysis. The overview will be complemented with information on existing provisions that impose or incentivate the adoption of good environmental practices in industries (e.g. best available technique or efficiency measures).
Successively, the project will examine the extent of effects on market forces, evaluating national and regional comparisons. Thus, the effects will be assessed through case studies on a national or sub-national level, depending on which level has the legislative mandate for environmental policy.
Moreover, a benchmarking exercise will be carried out with a focus on the regional comparisons mentioned above and will thus allow to assess the different typologies of regulatory and non-regulatory incentives that are applied, in the building sector, in specific Regions and Countries within the EU.
Finally, the project aims to summarize the research findings and to translate these findings in policy recommendations. One particular focus will be on opportunities to enhance or mitigate the impacts of the concerned environmental regulatory and non-regulatory measures on market forces and competitiveness. The definition of policy recommendations will take into account the process of formulation of EU SCP Action Plan and the revision of Green Construction Product Directive (89/106/EEC).

Contact name for further information:

Prof. Ing. Marco Del Borghi – delborg@unige.it