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8 - Keep Raising the Bar

Green-lighting a Race to the Top!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2022

Daniel C. Matisoff
Affiliation:
Georgia Institute of Technology
Douglas S. Noonan
Affiliation:
Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
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Summary

This chapter argues that participation in voluntary programs can facilitate ongoing quality competition, enabling a race. It advances a theory of self-regulatory competition that may sustain this race. From this perspective, programs can be designed to facilitate a race to the top despite tendencies for label managers to compete for the lowest common denominator or for firms to greenwash and strategically overrepresent their environmental performance. Building on the premise underpinning demonstration projects improving supply chains and facilitating uptake of new technologies, it highlights how ecolabel programs can help transform markets. Once a market becomes crowded, new standards can be set, raising the bar for building performance. Data from the LEED program demonstrate that, over time, organizations and especially private firms invest additional resources to attain higher certification tiers, becoming greener as part of a race to the top in a voluntary, green building certification program.

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Chapter
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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  • Keep Raising the Bar
  • Daniel C. Matisoff, Georgia Institute of Technology, Douglas S. Noonan, Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
  • Book: Ecolabels, Innovation, and Green Market Transformation
  • Online publication: 27 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888769.009
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Save book to Dropbox

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  • Keep Raising the Bar
  • Daniel C. Matisoff, Georgia Institute of Technology, Douglas S. Noonan, Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
  • Book: Ecolabels, Innovation, and Green Market Transformation
  • Online publication: 27 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888769.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Keep Raising the Bar
  • Daniel C. Matisoff, Georgia Institute of Technology, Douglas S. Noonan, Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
  • Book: Ecolabels, Innovation, and Green Market Transformation
  • Online publication: 27 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888769.009
Available formats
×