In response to investors? and other stakeholders? concerns about corporate environmental policies, many firms are voluntarily increasing their level of environmental disclosure since there is a scarcity of alternative information sources. Using a cost-benefit framework, this study intends to identify determinants of corporate environmental reporting by Canadian firms subject to water pollution compliance regulations during the 1986-1993 period. Results suggest that information costs and a firm?s financial condition are key determinants of environmental disclosure. Firm size, the regulatory regime governing corporate disclosure, and industry, also contribute to explaining environmental disclosure.

This book is a first step towards understanding the complexity of corporate environmental strategy while explaining the relationships between the numerous dimensions of the concept. When we think of corporate environmental strategy, we usually have in mind a dull and stereotypical statement issued by the CEO, addressing aspects such as pollution reduction, stakeholder dialogue, and unfailing care for the environment. However, genuine environmental protection relies on proactive policies, managerial commitment, cleaner technologies, and advanced management procedures. The author identifies a series of environmental strategy dimensions, some of which have been thoroughly researched in the literature, whereas others have only emerged in recent years. The main dimensions presented in this book include corporate environmental performance; environmental accounting and disclosure; environmental management practices; greening the supply-chain; environmental values and responsibility; green entrepreneurship and innovation; environmental training, culture and policies; and environmental legitimacy and reputation. For each dimension, the author develops a discussion framework, which provides the necessary operational definitions, methodological implications, and practical situations in which these constructs can be used. Each section contains a visual representation of the relationships between the dimensions of corporate environmental strategy and the actions of decision-makers and relevant stakeholders.

Study on the environmental management strategies and environmental disclosure practices of various corporate enterprises in India, Singapore and Malaysia.

This study examines the environmental disclosure strategies of Canadian resource companies during the period 1985 to 2008. The research questions whether disclosure decisions reflect signalling or legitimization strategies by studying the relation between the companies' environmental disclosure and their actual environmental performance, and by examining the nature of changes in disclosure when seven environmental reporting regulations are introduced over this period. We use non-parametric tests, ANCOVA and charts to examine the types and quantities of information disclosed and changes in these over time. We find evidence of signalling behaviour, but we also find that as reporting regulations increase, companies shift information out of the annual report and into standalone corporate environmental and social responsibility reports which have, during the study period, no independent auditor involvement.

The rise of sustainability has swept away the traditional views about firms’ competitiveness, survival and profitability, advocating new approaches. Although the strategic decisions on sustainable issues become more important, many firms have erroneously narrow view of environmental strategies and related practices generally have only an outward-looking focus. In line with these considerations, this book aims to investigate the “environmental dimension” as a new “strategic variable” for contributing to strengthen the competitive positioning of firms and to increase the value creation process. The author provides a comprehensive framework for green management by highlights practices and tools to translate strategy into effective environmental ideas. The focus is on goals and actions, from a side, and on the implementation of appropriate control systems useful for monitoring the results of environmental performance, on the other. As such, the book enriches sustainability literature, offers new insights for scholars, and provides implications for practitioners involved in green management.

This book explores corporate environmental discourse by examining a sample of corporate environmental reports through the lens of environmental philosophy. Findings include the predominant use of a dualistic approach towards nature, which highlights the perceived ‘separateness’ of companies from the natural world. Also explored are the corporate articulations of interconnectivity and transcendence, two philosophical approaches that are also in common use in western culture. The expression of these themes reveals the discursive underpinnings of a harmful relationship with nature. Exploring the ways in which discourse informs corporate relationships with nature allows for an in-depth ‘diagnosis’ of current environmental problems. The history of environmental philosophy demonstrates how some powerful philosophical approaches have shaped the western relationship with nature over time, and continue to do so through corporate environmental reporting. Corporate Environmental Reporting: The Western Approach to Nature demonstrates how corporate reporting is used to reduce the perception of the corporate responsibility, and contributes to the erosion of broader cultural restraints against the harmful treatment of nature. As such, discourse is integral to the survival of the world which we – and other members of our biotic community – are utterly reliant on. It shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest both to students at an advanced level, academics and reflective practitioners. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of accounting, management, environmental philosophy and sustainable management.