Voluntary Systems for Ensuring Compliance with Environmental Law in Canada, the United States and Mexico

Abstract

This article provides a comparative analysis of non-conventional systems for ensuring compliance with environmental law in Canada, the United States and Mexico. These systems, already in place in these countries, constitute an alternative means of incorporating the greatest possible number of infringers of environmental regulations into the regulated community. The importance of voluntary systems, in addition to the fact that they complement traditional compulsory systems, lies in their attempt to reach polluting companies which would otherwise remain outside the scope of the law, due to the inability of environmental authorities to cover the entire business world.