Wow, alphabet soup this week, eh?ISO, WEEE, RoHS and the DSD are examples of industry regulating itself. By

Wow, alphabet soup this week, eh? ISO, WEEE, RoHS and the DSD are examples of industry regulating itself. By

taking responsible actions, they may avoid "legs" and "regs"--legislation and associated regulation. 

Can corporations effectively reduce their environmental and human impact without oversight from the government (legislation and regulation)?  Can ISO an effective tool to reduce negative environmental impacts and do it without interference from government? 

When industry self-regulates, corporations can avoid further regulations and legislation ("legs and regs"). This can also reduce the direct costs to governments. They save the cost of implementing regulations to manage corporate wastes, pollution, and behavior. This saves taxpayers the costs of operating government regulations. But is it an effective means to reduce negative impacts?

What are your thoughts on industry self-regulation, can it work and who/what upholds the standards?