OECD Environment Working Papers
This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected studies on environmental issues prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal authors are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language English or French with a summary in the other if available.
- ISSN: 19970900 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/19970900
Outcome Performance Measures of Environmental Compliance Assurance
Current Practices, Constraints and Ways Forward
This report analyses the experience of ten OECD countries in the design and implementation of
quantitative indicators used to assess the outcomes of environmental enforcement authorities’ efforts to
ensure compliance with pollution prevention and control regulations.
To respond to the growing demand for results-oriented work methods and the need for performance
management and accountability at the time of severe budget constraints, more and more environmental
enforcement authorities are working to develop indicators to characterise improvements in behaviour of the
regulated community (intermediate outcomes) or environmental conditions (final outcomes) stemming
from their activities.
The report considers six types of intermediate and final outcome performance measures, including
compliance rates and indicators of improved environmental management practices and reduced risk. Based
on the OECD criteria for the evaluation of environmental indicators – measurability, analytical soundness
and policy relevance – the paper identifies key challenges for developing and using specific categories of
compliance assurance outcome indicators and suggests several ways to improve their effectiveness.
The review of a “toolbox” of existing outcome indicators and the analysis of their respective strengths and
weaknesses suggests that it is not possible to identify a “best practice” approach or a universal optimal set
of indicators. The functionality of individual outcome measures ultimately depends on their purpose (e.g.
internal performance assessment or external accountability) and suitability for joint analysis with the
enforcement authority’s resource (input) and activity (output) indicators.
The report identifies several issues for further analysis.
Keywords: environmental regulations, environmental inspections, compliance and enforcement, environmental authorities, performance measurement, outcome indicators, compliance assurance
JEL:
O57: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economywide Country Studies / Comparative Studies of Countries;
K32: Law and Economics / Other Substantive Areas of Law / Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law;
K42: Law and Economics / Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior / Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law;
M48: Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics / Accounting and Auditing / Accounting and Auditing: Government Policy and Regulation;
Q56: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
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