Klimaschutz in Betrieben: Freiwillige Selbstverpflichtungen am Beispiel kleiner und mittlerer Unternehmen anhand der Oö. Projekte "Betriebe im Klimabündnis" und "Klimarettung"

Anthropogenic global warming is considered to be the gravest global environmental problem. The most noteworthy international effort to combat global climate change is the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol which contains concrete and legally- binding emissions targets for industrialized countries. The industrialized countries can use several environmental policy instruments to reach their emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Voluntary environmental agreements as a variant of cooperative approaches are increasingly discussed as a new policy instrument for meeting environmental objectives, especially in the field of climate protection. Even though voluntary agreements cannot replace the traditional command- and-control approach, they may at least complement the optimal policy mix. This paper examines under which circumstances such agreements can be successful and afterwards demonstrates the implementation of voluntary approaches in practice for the Upper Austrian projects “Climate Alliance and Industry” and “Climate saviours”. The paper concludes with an empirical research. Based on a survey companies from Upper Austria participating in voluntary projects were asked about their previous experience with the project itself as well as with environmental consultation and development programmes.