Miljö i fokus - En studie av de bakomliggande drivkrafterna för den ökade miljömedvetenheten inom svensk kemiindustri
BACKGROUND & During the last century, the Swedish chemical industry has developedPROBLEM: considerably in regard to respecting the environment. Following various discharges and pollutions during the first half of the 20th century, environmental concepts such as CSR, Responsible Care and REACH have developed in order to improve the situation. Today, environmental issues play a central role in the society, but what are the reasons behind this increased environmental commitment? PURPOSE & The purpose of this thesis paper is to study the driving forces behindDELIMITATIONS: the increased environmental awareness in companies. Is this mainly due to stricter legislations, or do factors like pressure from the general public, the industry or customers play a more vital role? Furthermore, do economic incentives exist, that make it interesting for companies to invest in environmental awareness? Since the chemical industry spans over a wide spectrum in regard to environmental issues, this paper will focus on a specific area of the industry. Therefore, the main area of focus will be the environmental issues within the paint industry. METHOD: The analysis of the paint industry is mainly based upon data collected through six interviews. All respondents are, or have earlier been, working actively in environmental issues within the paint industry.CONCLUSION: The conclusion of this thesis paper is that, in addition to a stricter legislation, there are other driving forces behind the environmental development in the Swedish paint and chemical industry. These driving forces are mainly of an economic characteristic. The companies strive to be competitive in the long run, which requires an active environmental work. The increased environmental awareness of the general public is not a strong driving force. Instead, it is rather the industry itself that has lead to the environmental development.