Book: Eco‐Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business. Towards a Governance Structure for Sustainable Development

industrial process technologies are presented, along with a number of recommendations for improved public policy. Luiten advises the additional exploration of internationally coordinated programs and agreements on research and development, which are increasingly becoming a meeting ground for transatlantic climate policy. Chapter 7, authored by de Groot, E. Verhoef, and P. Nijkamp, presents the results of a survey of Dutch firms. It reveals, among other things, that the improvement of energy efficiency has become a normal part of business operations in The Netherlands, largely driven by the economic potential for cost savings. It also shows that taxes are, under certain conditions, preferred by industry as compared to detailed policy guidelines. Chapter 8, authored by de Groot, J. Ros, R. Engelen, M. Rietbergen, and E. Luiten, presents an adapted version of the MEI—Model Effectiveness of Policy Instruments—which was developed at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in The Netherlands (“MEI-energy,” to assess the effectiveness of energy policies). Chapter 9 offers conclusions for the entire volume, organized around the individual contributions and in a synthesis. Among other things, it appears that both subsidies and voluntary agreements have increased the rate of adoption of energy-efficient technologies in The Netherlands, but that voluntary agreements appear to be more cost-effective. In sum, the volume by Blok and colleagues is a good, useful, and timely book written by leading Dutch experts in the field. It is also written in a style and with a methodology that make it accessible to a wide audience. Yet is also suffers from a number of shortcomings. Not all contributions have been researched explicitly for this study, which makes it at times less coherent than would be desirable. For example, although the entire book is meant to focus on energy efficiency of firms, one case study analyzes data on nonprofit organizations. Not all contributions make equal use of the conceptual framework that is developed in the Introduction and in Chapter 2. Likewise, some data and analysis appear to be slightly older than the publication date of the book (2004) would indicate. For example, the survey conducted for Chapter 7 dates back to 1998, and few references in the volume go beyond 2000. But this does not reduce the value of this book, which remains a comprehensive report on Dutch experiences and research in this field. Although it makes sense analytically to focus on one country and one policy goal, such as energy efficiency, it would have added to the value of this study if the authors had included more comparative references to experiences of other (industrialized) countries. International influences, especially through trade, are not addressed in this study, even though the European and international integration of the Dutch economy is likely to explain some variation in policy effectiveness. Similarly, potential problem shift—for example, to other countries or regions—induced by energy-efficiency policies might have been addressed in more detail. Finally, because the book appeared in 2004, the new European system on emissions trading is not analyzed. This is possibly an issue for the second edition of this valuable contribution on the effectiveness of policy instruments for energyefficiency improvements in The Netherlands.