This study was centred around the assessment of non-compulsory, co-operative approaches as exemplified by the German industry´s "Erklärung der deutschen Wirtschaft zur Klimavorsorge". From a regulatory perspective the following benefits can usually be assumed to hold:
-the avoidance of a whole body of legal and executive procedures with oftentimes uncertain outcomes,
-the immediate responsiveness within the setup agreed upon, as well as concerning the adaptiveness to developments in the greater political framework
-greater efficiency with respect to implementation processes, -
reduction of administrative and general regulatory involvement (control bodies, legal disputes, etc.)
-greater scalability regarding specific characteristics of the involved parties as well as the political arena.
On the other hand, a number of objections are concealed by the above list. A major concern, needless to say, is that environmentally protective behaviour sought by firms within a non-compulsory agreement will likely be limited to those implications still contained by respective self-interest. In other words, it may well be reasonable to declare, to a certain extent, a clear-cut regulatory framework as necessary condition in the effort to reach important, even fundamental structural changes. A laissez-faire approach might accordingly fail to initiate firm-level exploratory behaviour guided by ecological and sustainable objectives, as would seem desirable.