This diploma thesis describes marking of goods and services which help raise competitive producers on the market and also help to consumers in decision of purchasing products. In this time there are on the Czech market many labels describing the quality of goods. There is the special focus on the eco-labelling, which is label for positive effect on the environment. In this thesis there is described the history of voluntary approaches in chosen countries. My work analyses labels and their functions on the Czech market. There are also views of consumers on marking goods and services. At the conclusion I investigate producers' options on labels of goods.

This paper is focused on finding the motivations that guide companies in Czech republic to apply voluntary approaches. The aim of this work is to define the most effective voluntary approaches. Economics has already analyzed conditions under which voluntary approaches are more preferable than administrative and economic environmental tools. But the question is if the business practice reflects theoretical recommendations. Based on a survey, the most common motivations to apply voluntary approaches will be analyzed. Then it will be possible to identify or modify the most effective voluntary approach.

Cette thèse vise à relever les déterminants de l'innovation environnementale de produit. Cette nouvelle innovation à caractère plus complexe, et dont les exigences en termes d'efficacité environnementale et de compétitivité sont essentielles à son développement et sa diffusion, occupe une place de plus en plus centrale au sein de la firme. Nous avons, dans ce travail de recherche, analysé particulièrement l'efficacité des approches volontaires, en l'occurrence la certification Ecolabel européen, sur l'innovation de produit au sein de la firme et relevé, en même temps, les principaux déterminants d'adoption de cet écolabel. Nous avons focalisé notre analyse sur le secteur des détergents et produits d'entretien en France. Cette analyse s'inscrit dans une approche évolutionniste et considère le processus de changement technique (développement et diffusion de l'innovation de produit (s) certifié (s) Ecolabel européen) comme étant un processus complexe et incertain intégrant différents facteurs en coévolution, au-delà d'une conception se limitant au rôle des politiques environnementales. L'étude de cas montre le rôle de la stratégie des firmes dans le processus de changement technique. L'étude empirique confirme le rôle de ce déterminant (stratégie des fournisseurs de biomolécules), et ressort, en outre, l'importance de la règlementation (REACH…), des avantages de la certification (une forte image) et de la demande dans l'adoption de cet écolabel / The aim of this thesis is to determine the relevant factors of environmental product innovation. This new more complex innovation, which requires environmental and competitiveness performance for its development and diffusion, occupies a more and more central place in the firm. We have in this work particularly analyzed the effectiveness of voluntary approaches (namely the European Ecolabel certification) on the innovation of products in the firm and, at the same time, identified the key determinants to adoption of this ecolabel. We focused our analysis on the detergents and maintenance-products sector in France. This study is a part of an evolutionary approach and considers the process of technical change (development and diffusion of European Ecolabel certified product) to be a complex and uncertain process incorporating different factors in co-evolution, beyond a limited conception of the role of environmental policies. The case study shows the role of the firm strategy in the process of technical change. The empirical analysis confirms the role of this determinant (strategy of suppliers of bimolecular substances) and presents, moreover, the importance of regulation (REACH…), the benefits of certification (brand image) and demand as key factors in adoption of this ecolabel certification. Indeed, although this voluntary policy drives some firms to innovation, the environmental performance and accession by most firms in this sector remains a challenge. In the current context, firms which have used biomolecular substances, under suppliers' strategic influence, have developed green products but not systematically European Ecolabel certified products

Today a grand majority (around 80%) of the European citizens live in cities or towns. Europe is more urbanised than ever. Contemporaneously, climate change and global warming is an increasing threat worldwide. In 2006, the European Commission of the European Union (EU) therefore launched the idea of implementing the yearly European Green Capital (EGC) award. The aim was (and still is) to create role models by promoting cities that constantly take strong actions for the environment and thereby inspire other cities to make green choices too. In February 2009 the first two EGC winners were announced: Stockholm (Sweden) 2010 and Hamburg (Germany) 2011. The question is whether an award of this kind is the right method for the EU to deal with environment issues. If not, the EU should invest its resources elsewhere. This thesis aims at evaluating the EGC by looking closer at Stockholm as the EGC winner of 2010 and by analysing the impacts the EGC title has on Sweden’s EU Presidency the second half of 2009. The ecological modernisation theory reconciles economic growth and environmental protection, and provides several relevant features and aspects to this thesis regarding sustainable development, voluntary approaches and environmental policy-making. By applying the theory on the EGC many things such as the underlying visions and methods of the award can be explained and analysed. The conclusion of the thesis is that the EGC in some respects is leading to a greener and more sustainable Europe or at least has the potential to do so.

Cette thèse s'articule autour de trois propositions de représentation de la structure incitationnelle qui sous-tend les contextes de régulation environnementale dans lesquels les agents producteurs de l'externalité adoptent des comportements proactifs pour devancer et prévenir la mise en place d'une éventuelle mesure contraignante par l'autorité régulatrice. Ces trois propositions sont faites dans une perspective normative, i.e. en considérant que l'autorité régulatrice peut jouer sur les modalités et résultats de l'autorégulation des agents par le moyen de menaces, d'effets d'annonce, pour d'induire les comportements souhaités, et atteindre l'efficacité environnementale et/ou de coût. Les mécanismes étudiés sont regroupés sous une dénomination commune d' 'approche volontaire collective préventive' (AVCP). La menace, sous la forme d'une taxe unitaire en cas de non-atteinte volontaire d'un objectif environnemental, est au centre de résultats de la thèse. D'abord dans un jeu statique d'émission (premier essai), ensuite dans un jeu différentiel d'extraction (second essai), et enfin, dans un jeu général de participation à l'AVCP (troisième essai). Dans chacun des contextes de régulation environnementale décrits, cette taxe est formalisée comme endogène, ce qui permet de considérer les AVCP comme de réels instruments de régulation, rejoignant la famille des outils dits basés sur les incitations. / This dissertation consists of three essays on the specific incentive structure that underlies regulation contexts in which the agents generating an environmental externality self-regulate in order to preempt the enforcement of a mandatory policy by a regulatory agency. The three essays take a normative perspective, i.e. investigate the way the regulatory agency may induce efficient proactive behavior by the mean of purposely designed threat and announcement effects. Such mechanisms fall under the common denomination of 'collective voluntary-threat policies' (CVTP). The three essays' results focus on the threat, formalized as a unit tax that is said to be implemented by the regulator if the environmental target is not reached voluntarily : first in a two-stage and static emission game (first essay) ; then in a differential extraction game (second essay) ; finally in a general participation game to the CVTP (third essay). In each framework, the tax is considered as endogenous, and thereby, the CVTP being studied as part of the Incentive-Based Regulatory Approaches.

The thesis deals with the issue of voluntary approaches to the environmental protection, it firstly describes the importance of protecting the environment, further regulation of environmental protection and possible approaches to environmental protection in the context of social development. Subsequently, attention is also paid to voluntary approaches to the environmental protection, namely the basic division of voluntary approaches to environmental management systems, environmental labeling, eco-design, cleaner production, all-out quality management and environmental management accounting. In the practical part of the text were evaluated voluntary approaches to environmental protection in selected companies, namely Unilever and Hochtief, through the realization of my research was mainly detected, whether the company was, is or will be, effective introduction of voluntary approaches to environmental protection or not, i.e. what are the motives of the company for the introduction and implementation of these voluntary approaches.