Recent experience in the United States and Asia suggests that public information disclosure on industrial pollution can be a cost-effective way to reduce pollution and promote sustainable development without adversely affecting competitiveness. This issue of Competitive Advantage for government policy makers, community and nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, and industry decision makers in Asia examines government-based and voluntary business disclosure programs that apply community pressures to improve industrial environmental performance. Command and control mechanisms and market-based instruments are necessary, but often insufficient. Communities can work in tandem with existing regulations, using public information and the political process to strengthen enforcement. However, if regulations are absent or ineffective, community groups can still interact with government and industry to improve environmental management. Companies often find that the mere act of gathering information proves to be an impetus for adopting pollution prevention and cleaner technology. The availability of accurate environmental information enhances the ability of communities, governments, and industry to work more effectively together.

Information disclosure programs by national or local government range from registries of pollutant and toxic releases, ranking and reputational incentive schemes, ecolabeling, andfreedom of information codes. These programs mandated by government regulators are not intended to set specific performance or compliance criteria, but rather keep the numerous affected parties communities, employees, and investors informed of an industry's environmental performance and encourage, but do not require, appropriate industry action. Note that government information disclosure programs are not necessarily limited to environmental protection agencies or ministries, but may also be employed by agencies involved in economic or industrial development.

Industry may also voluntarily implement information sharing and public disclosure as a company best practice. A growing number of firms communicate the range of their environmental practices and impacts through publishing corporate environmental reports, forming green alliances with environmental and community NGOs, and developing broad outreach programs.

In this issue, the article on government and voluntary information disclosure tools presents an overview of the range of public disclosure programs available with illustrative examples. David Wheeler of the World Bank discusses two recent Bank studies that describe the forces communities and markets exert on the enforcement of regulations and industrial behavior. Wheeler examines China's noncompliance levy for water polluters and Indonesia's Program for Pollution Control, Evaluation, and Rating (PROPER). Other examples of these influences on industrial behavior are evident in the Philippine's case studies of San Miguel Corporation and the Laguna Lake Development Authority, and the NGO-business collaboration efforts in Bangladesh. For those designing information disclosure programs, we offer a brief summary of issues to consider. An interview with Douglas Lober of Duke University reviews the current status of corporate environmental reporting, one of several voluntary information sharing tools.

We hope you find this issue of Competitive Advantage informative and thought provoking. US-AEP welcomes your comments and contributions. We look forward to helping you find appropriate solutions so for sustainable economic growth at the national, local, and community level.