환경규제는 자발적일 수 없는가?: 자율환경협약의 논리와 효과성

Traditional command-and-control approach faces resistance from the regulated groups and therefore causes financial inefficiency in environmental regulation. As one of alternatives of mandatory regulation, voluntary environmental agreement (or voluntary environmental program) pays attention on corporates’ role for environmental protection. Interests in this program are growing in both academic and practical ground in that this new approach tries to solve environmental problems through proactive efforts of businesses which traditionally used to be in a passive position in environmental regulation. This paper examines the significance of voluntary environmental program as a new policy approach for environmental protection, types and cases of the program, corporates’ participatory motivation as an operating mechanism, and related issues about the program’s effectiveness. This exploratory study provides a theoretical background for discussing the new approach’s possibility of solving environmental problems in Korea.