Full Disclosure in Europe.

In October 2000, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) started developing a set of regulations that would require corporations to disclose their emissions of certain pollutants and the transport of such substances to treatment or disposal facilities. The regulations are expected to require development of pollutant release and transfer registers, tools that have been in use in the United States for over a decade, during which time emissions reported by companies have declined by half. Kaj Barlund, director of the UN/ECE Environment and Human Settlements Division, says the registries are a powerful, cost-effective means of putting emissions information before the public to help create pressure on companies to voluntarily reduce pollution. The negotiations, established under the Aarhus Convention, involve a number of nongovernmental organizations, industry groups, and intergovernmental agencies.