Environmental Performance Rating and Disclosure : China's Green-Watch Program
This paper describes a new incentive-based pollution control program in China in which the environmental performance of firms is rated and reported to the public. Firms are rated from best to worst using five colors-green, blue, yellow, red, and bl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/09/2018946/environmental-performance-rating-disclosure-chinas-green-watch-program http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19284 |
| Summary: | This paper describes a new
incentive-based pollution control program in China in which
the environmental performance of firms is rated and reported
to the public. Firms are rated from best to worst using five
colors-green, blue, yellow, red, and black-and the ratings
are disseminated to the public through the media. The impact
has been substantial, suggesting that public disclosure
provides a significant incentive for firms to improve their
environmental performance. The paper focuses on the
experience of the first two disclosure programs, in
Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.
Successful implementation of these programs at two very
different levels of economic and institutional development
suggests that public disclosure should be feasible in most
of China. The Zhenjiang and Hohhot experiences have also
shown that performance disclosure can significantly reduce
pollution, even in settings where environmental
nongovernmental organizations are not very active and there
is no formal channel for public participation in
environmental regulation. |
|---|