Ottawa – As world leaders are about to gather in Paris to agree to new greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts, Canada’s industry leaders shouldn’t fear compliance costs. It turns out that the costs of complying with environmental regulations is much lower than we think.

New evidence shows that industries and companies overestimate the cost of complying with environmental regulations, and that often these regulations can lead to beneficial innovation too. This means that our economy and environment can both win.

There are three reasons environmental regulations can be win-win:

  • They encourage innovation and resourceful thinking about operations and products, which can lead to economic returns
  • Compliance costs are not as high as anticipated by industry and governments (often overestimated by 10 times or more)
  • Improved, modern policies allow flexibility in meeting environmental regulations

In 2014, OECD researchers gathered the first-ever set of data on environmental regulations and found that “an increase in stringency of environmental policies does not harm productivity growth.” Times are changing. Industries and individual companies are showing significant interest in improved, modern policies and seek action from government and other decision-makers. Environmental regulations are not a trade-off at the expense of economic growth, but rather a win-win for the environment and our bottom line.

Sustainable Prosperity has released a series of reports detailing these findings and suggested actions for government and other decision-makers: http://www.sustainableprosperity.ca/green-tape-measures-up

For more information and to arrange interviews:

Melanie Coulson
(613) 462-3375 (cell)
(613) 562-5800 ext. 1189 (office)
mcoulson@sustainableprosperity.ca