| Summary: | The thesis tries to establish how North Sea oil & gas companies refer to their voluntary action, and if they are using the term ‘VEA’. The reasons and benefits of VEA participation by individual companies and the industry sector as a whole are identified. The impact of VEAs on the environmental management strategy is investigated, including the influence of different management levels on the initiation of these agreements. A variety of data collection techniques were employed. These include: a) a review of current academic literature, as well as policy documents provided by national governments, international institutions, industry organisations and individual companies, b) a questionnaire survey of North Sea oil & gas companies, national regulatory agencies, industry organisations, and environmental NGOs, and c) interviews with representatives from government and companies. The findings suggest that the North Sea oil & gas industry is using its own terminology and classification system regarding VEAs. Companies and industry use VEAs externally to improve their environmental image with a wide range of stakeholders. In particular, the enhanced relationship with regulatory agencies has been pointed out. Voluntary agreements have greatly improved communications between government authorities and companies by allowing for a joint approach to environmental protection. Furthermore, companies have reported an increase in environmental awareness amongst their staff due to VEA participation, which subsequently has led to the continuous improvement of the corporate environmental management strategy.
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