ABSTRACT
Environmentalism has been defined as a code of conduct which involves the recognition of man's obligation to all other living and inanimate things (O'Riordan, 1976). The strength of the environmental movement has been acknowledged in most countries of the developed world during the last decade by the creation of institutional structures designed to ensure the incorporation of such values within the decision-making processes of both public and private agencies. In view of the important role of industry in economic growth, it is not surprising that much legislation inspired by environmental considerations should affect the activities of the manufacturing sector. Numerous studies have considered the economic implications of environmental policies for particular industries (see Atkins and Lowe, 1977; Thompson, Calloway and Nawalanic, 1978), but few have been concerned with the way in which these policies may influence the location of investment, either directly, through limitations upon the development of greenfield sites, or indirectly, as a result of differential rates of growth at existing sites (Chapman, 1980a). The balance of the literature reflects the fact that, apart from land-use controls and certain air pollution control measures, the various instruments of environmental policy are not specifically designed to influence the location of economic activities in the same way that regional policy, for example, has an expiicitly spatial focus. Nevertheless there is evidence that environmental policies may have subtle and unexpected influences upon the location of manufacturing industry. The fact that these influences may be neither obvious nor consistent with other policy objectives makes them all the more worthy of consideration.
