Hi Nick

I read that piece last week funnily enough. My thoughts are as follows:

Yes the quickest way to a greener, more genuine CSR-oriented economy is through government regulation. But regulation cannot be the whole story.

Governments can not and do not run businesses. More regulation (which the UK has had plenty of in the last 7 years - some for better and some for worse) will, generally speaking, inevitably turn inward investment away to less regulated spaces.

Regulation can be and is a part of the picture and so governments need to continue to set policy very carefully. Policy that draws a baseline for companies to follow.

Phasing out leaded petrol and CFC appliances in the UK were good examples of the level of regulation that works.

In fact it helps to drive innovation and growth as a phased regulatory change forces new commercial paths to open up.

But your assertion is correct...competitive advantage is a key driver for business. And governments rarely do anything to foster competitive advantage, except maybe on a competitive national scale between countries.

What would be interesting would be if a government were to go the whole hog and massively regulate over 10 years for a totally greened economy...short-term chaos I imagine in exchange for long-term, national-economy wide, massive competitive advantage...if the nations economy survives?

Companies need to be able to follow their own path...I guess ultimately though governments get to determine the vague direction.

Namaste

Al