EPA's voluntary 33/50 program: Impact on toxic releases and economic performance of firms

This paper examines the motivations for participation in the voluntary 33/50 Program and the program's impact on the toxic releases and economic performance of firms in the U.S. chemical industry. It demonstrates that the benefits due to public recognition and the potentially avoided costs of liabilities and compliance under mandatory environmental regulations provide strong incentives for participation. After controlling for sample selection bias and the impact of other firm-specific characteristics, this paper shows that program participation led to a statistically significant decline in toxic releases over the period 1991-93. The program also had a statistically significant negative impact on the current return on investment of firms, but its impact on the expected long run profitability of firms was positive and statistically significant.