ABSTRACT
Superfund is a substantial motivator for the private-sector to initiate its own programs. Industry has learned through involvement with Superfund, that reliance on the letter of the law may not afford sufficient protection from environmental liability. Individual components of voluntary, private-sector environmental performance programs are being developed and demonstrated, and to the extent that they are successful, will serve to identify some of those benefits. In order for government to change its approach, acknowledge progressive companies as innocent until proven guilty, and transfer responsibility for protecting the environment to them, it needs to present a defensible rationale to its environmental advocacy constituency. An increasingly global market exposes environmental professionals in US corporations to environmental protection systems in place in other countries. In 1996 and 1997, environmental regulatory agencies in several states initiated progressive programmatic reforms in an effort to increase regulatory flexibility and develop partnerships with industry.
