ABSTRACT
In the early 1990s the Australian State of Victoria introduced a new policy instrument, the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), designed to reduce polluting emissions from major industrial sites. The involvement of community groups in the regulatory process is a major departure from the traditional approach, which involves standards that are created, implemented and enforced by government. Community members are empowered to participate directly in dialogue and negotiations with companies about their environmental performance and how it might be improved. It is also possible that community members participating in Community Liaison Committees do not reflect broader community interests but rather the personal agenda of the particular individuals involved. Company management may view the EIP process as a means of ensuring the future social and regulatory viability of their operations. For those who adopted an EIP voluntarily and even more so for accredited licensees, Victorian Environmental Protection Authority inspectors were far more likely to employ a 'regulatory light touch'.
