Cooperation between regulators and firms is key to successful green policies
 

LONDON, ON, December 1, 2009 - When it comes to business, green is the colour on the horizon and environmental standards for firms are progressing at a rapid pace.

However, recent research from Adam Fremeth, Assistant Professor, Richard Ivey School of Business, investigates why various jurisdictions aren't progressing in sync.

Proof is in the response to U.S. President Barack Obama's move to pass a national energy bill that requires 25 per cent of U.S. electricity to come from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable sources by 2025. While some states have passed ambitious standards - such as Minnesota's renewable portfolio standard of 25 per cent green energy by 2025 - other states have low or no standards and are lobbying against the bill.

In his research, Fremeth found that state policy is often shaped by the capabilities of the firms that operate there. For instance, Minnesota has Xcel Energy, a large electrical and natural gas company with experience in different kinds of energy technologies, which can respond to a demanding renewable energy policy by redeploying this competence.

According to Fremeth, utility firms might also ramp up their renewable energy production because a neighbouring state has high standards.

Since regulators succeed when they bring in policies that are challenging, yet achievable, Fremeth stressed that regulators and firms need to cooperate to determine benchmarks.

"The incentive structures of the firms and of the regulators come together and you see a win-win," he said. "Firms and regulators who look for opportunities and creative ways to improve their competitiveness are the ones who are really going to win out."

Details of the research were released today in the December edition of impact, an online monthly publication featuring new research from faculty at the Richard Ivey School of Business. To read the full article, click here: http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/publications/impact/vol15no12-fremeth.htm

Jana Seijts, a lecturer in management communications, also discusses what Generation Y workers want from an organization and how managers can work with them. For the full article, click here: http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/publications/impact/vol15no12-ff-seijtsj.htm

 

About the Richard Ivey School of Business

The Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario (www.ivey.ca) offers undergraduate (HBA) and graduate degree programs (MBA, Executive MBA and PhD) in addition to non-degree Executive Development programs. Ivey has campuses in London (Ontario), Toronto, and Hong Kong. Ivey recently redesigned its curriculum to focus on Cross-Enterprise Leadership - a holistic issues-based approach to management education that meets the demands of today's complex global business world.

 

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For more information, please contact:
Dawn Milne, Richard Ivey School of Business, 519-850-2536, dmilne@ivey.ca