"Convergence through the back door? The implementation and use of environmental management systems in Germany and the UK"

Kollman, Kelly. (2001) "Convergence through the back door? The implementation and use of environmental management systems in Germany and the UK" . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2001 (7th), May 31-June 2, 2001, pages 45, Madison, Wisconsin.

Abstract

The paper proceeds in five sections. The first section outlines different strands of convergence theory and relates them to the two types of convergence-government behavior and firm behavior-being addressed in the paper. The second section briefly describes EMAS and ISO 14001 and their historic development. Section three details the manner in which EMAS has been used as a policy instrument in Germany and the UK and assesses its potential for causing convergence in the policy styles of the environmental bureaucracies in the two countries. The fourth section examines how German and British chemical firms have used EMAS and ISO 14001 and evaluates their potential for causing convergence in business practices. The final section will offer a summary of the paper's finding and relate these to our understanding of convergence theory as well as to the importance of private authority within increasingly fragmented governance structures.