Contingent Valuation Method

In this work, a methodological framework under the form of an algorithmic procedure, including 28 activity stages and 6 decision nodes, has been developed for evaluating environmental impact caused by industrial activities. The main part of this procedure is a modification of the CVM (Contingent Valuation Method), which is heavily relied on survey-based estimation of WTP-WTA (Willingness To Pay/Accept, respectively). The survey may take place either under a strictly controlled environment or in situ and as-is (“laboratory conditions” or “field conditions”, respectively, in the terminology of experimental economics). Implementation of this methodology is presented, referring to three cases of industrial pollution (in three different sites) caused by: (i) a cement producing unit, (ii) an oil refinery complex, and (iii) an industrialized small city with an intensively polluted port, where several industrial units co-exist, all of them located in the vicinity of Athens, Greece. The results are interpreted/discussed and conclusions are drawn.