Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction
探讨企业盈利性污染减排的途径，发现废物预防能带来意外创新补偿和财务收益，而其他减排方式未见盈利证据。
In this paper, we explore the locus of profitable pollution reduction. We propose that managers underestimate the full value of some means of pollution reduction and so under exploit these means. Based on evidence from previous studies, we argue that waste prevention often provides unexpected innovation offsets, and that onsite waste treatment often provides unexpected cost. We use statistical methods to test the direction and significance of the relationship between the various means of pollution reduction and profitability. We find strong evidence that waste prevention leads to financial gain, but we find no evidence that firms profit from reducing pollution by other means. Indeed, we find evidence that the bene fits of waste prevention alone are responsible for the observed association between lower emissions and profitability.