Design for Regulation: Integrating Sustainable Production into Mainstream Regulation

Abstract

This chapter asks what is needed to craft effective legal frameworks that take the notion of sustainable production seriously. Getting to an answer requires consideration of three questions. First, what do we mean by “sustainable production” in terms of a definition and fundamental principles? Here the chapter adopts a definition and examines three central principles: life cycle thinking, integration of environmental, social and economic concerns, and a preventive orientation. Second, what types of mandatory regulation can be used to advance sustainable production in accord with the fundamental principles? In response the chapter provides an overview of forms of sustainability-based regulation, and maps them onto five existing regulatory programs that to various degrees reflect sustainable production concepts. Third, which of those forms of regulation should be used to advance sustainable production? Recognizing the breadth of this normative question, the chapter does not attempt to identify the optimal regulatory approach. Instead it offers a set of factors that may influence regulatory design in this context.

Keywords: environmental regulation, sustainable production, sustainable development, regulatory programs