This doctoral thesis consists of an introductory preface and five independent papers, which all address the effectiveness of environmental regulations. The focus is on how regulatory design and implementation as well as institutional context could influence the outcomes of industrial pollution control. Paper I investigates the impact of performance standards on the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) discharges from Swedish pulp and paper mills over a four-decade long period. The analysis employs an instrumental variable estimation of the fixed effects panel data model and data for 22 individual mills. The results show that these COD standards have led to significant reductions in water pollution from the mills. However, the magnitudes of this effect differ across two regulatory regimes in Sweden, thus highlighting the role of the institutional context in which the regulations are embedded. Paper II focuses on how the use of compliance periods, i.e., granting industry extended deadlines to comply with new standards, has affected industrial pollution reductions. This regulatory tool is discussed conceptually, and the empirical analysis relies on an extended version of the above data set, and a Panel Vector Autoregressive model specification. The results illustrate that the combination of COD discharge standards and compliance periods has been effective in reducing water pollution. High regulatory capacity will improve the effectiveness of this type of regulation. Paper III investigates the factors that help explain the duration of environmental licensing processes. The paper devotes particular attention to incomplete license applications, and argues that theoretically, the industrial actors may have an incentive to submit environmental impact assessments (EIAs) that have a high risk of being deemed inadequate by the authorities. The analysis relies on an Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model and data covering 1606 environmental licensing processes that reached a final decision during the time-period 2018-2022. The results confirm that the high prevalence of incomplete applications has been a significant driver of delays in Swedish environmental licensing processes. The purpose of Paper IV is to investigate how licensing procedures can be implemented, and the regulatory requirements designed, to control pollution without jeopardizing investments in novel zero-carbon or digital projects. This is achieved in the empirical context of two licensing processes: Northvolt’s battery factory in the city of Skellefteå and Facebook’s data center in Luleå. The empirical analysis builds on an analytical framework, which provides the conceptual anchor for 20 semi-structured interviews with key persons involved in these two processes. The findings are consistent with the notion that well-functioning licensing processes will be characterized by three general attributes: flexibility, predictability and knowledge. These can be attained within the realms of existing legislation, in turn suggesting that successful green and digital transitions are likely not dependent on more radical legal reforms. Finally, Paper V provides a brief conceptual discussion of the choice between economic instruments, e.g., taxes, and standards in environmental policy. This paper questions the claim that the former always represents a superior policy approach for mitigating pollution. Based on recent research, it is argued that the zero-carbon transition involves specific challenges that tend to strengthen the case for the use of standards. Moreover, standards-based regulations are not necessarily adopted as crudely as some economic models assume, and efforts could be undertaken to reduce compliance costs and incentivize technological change. All in all, the findings in this thesis are consistent with the notion that such efforts ought to acknowledge the entire set-up of the regulatory system, including knowledge generation and transfer as well as the nature of the relationship between regulators and industry.