"The diverse range of authors highlight the inherent complexities and controversial nature of the use of corporate voluntary initiatives for environmental improvements. This is an excellent reference book." - Dianne Humphries, Pollution Probe

Over the last two decades environmental issues have become important in public and business policy. This book asks why firms sometimes voluntarily adopt environmental policies which go beyond legal requirements. It employs a new-institutionalist perspective, and argues that existing explanations, especially from neoclassical economics, concentrate on external factors at the expense of internal dynamics. Prakash argues that 'beyond-compliance' policies are due to two types of intra-firm processes, which he describes as power- and leadership-based. His argument is supported by analysis of ten cases within two firms - Baxter International Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company - including interviews with managers, and access to meetings and documents. This book therefore examines the internal working of firms' environmental policy in a theoretically rigorous way, providing a significant contribution to the theory of the firm. It will be valuable for students of business and environmental studies, as well as political economy and public policy.

Protecting the environment is often not the primary objective of businesses. As the world has become more environmentally aware, the necessity of environmental regulations becomes apparent. Voluntary Environmental Programs: A Policy Perspective examines different approaches to environmental protection in business. Typically, environmental improvements on the part of industry result from government regulations that command certain action from industry and then control how well it performs. An alternative approach is voluntary environmental agreements, where firms voluntarily commit to make certain environmental improvements individually, as part of an industry association, or under the guidance of a government entity. For example, many new initiatives targeting climate change originate from companies that voluntarily commit to reduce their carbon output or footprint.

Abstract: Societal efforts towards greening the economy are typically accompanied by controversy over whether voluntary initiatives by firms or government regulation are more effective to that end. Recent research argues that public opinion plays an important role in this regard because citizens' preferences are crucial when democratic policy-makers decide. We investigate whether and how citizens' general attitudes regarding the relationship between the private sector and government can help explain their policy preferences. We argue that whether citizens perceive the state-private sector relationship as synergistic or antagonistic has an effect on their support for private sector self-regulation or government regulation respectively. We assess this argument based on information from a representative survey (N = 1677) in Switzerland. We find that citizens who regard the state-private sector relationship in environmental policy-making as synergistic favor private sector self-regulation. In co

Public concern about worsening global environmental and social conditions has spurred corporate participation in voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Such efforts are promising, but CSR participation has unfolded unevenly across the globe, leading to skepticism about the efficacy of CSR efforts, and to increased pressure on governments to get involved. Corporate Social Responsibility and the State examines CSR governance through the lens of forest certification in Canada, the US, and Sweden. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews with experts, Lister offers revealing new information on CSR governance, ultimately demonstrating the importance of voluntary CSR as a supplement to rather than a substitute for strong state regulation. One of the first studies to directly address the role of the public sector in CSR, this book provides much-needed theoretical and practical guidance for understanding a vital new governance approach to effective social and environmental stewardship.

In In the Chamber of Risks William Leiss demonstrates that case studies of risk controversies show that those instincts are unreliable guides to effective risk management and that in all cases the opposite position is a far better guide. As risk management is inherently disputable, public perceptions of risk should be seen as legitimate and treated as such and the public should always be involved in discussions about risk evaluations made by scientists and risk managers. ; Leiss chronicles the erratic course of risk management and communication in environmental management in Canada, discussing the notable controversies that have arisen over pesticides and breast cancer, vinyl toys, genetically engineered food crops, cellular telephones, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, among many others. He focuses on risk management - how we make decisions about and assess hazards in the environment - and on risk communication - social dialogue that deals with both our intuitive feelings of concern about substances or activities that might hurt our health or the environment, and the scientific and probabilistic description of them. ; Leiss shows that both risk management and risk communication, when properly constructed, require an elaborate process because the very things that can cause harm are in most cases the same things that bring us great benefits, such as paper mills, electricity from nuclear power generating stations, or wireless telecommunications. ;

The authors explore the complex dynamics of mining and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Latin America, including a reflection on the African continent, presenting arguments and case studies based on new research on a set of urgent and emerging questions surrounding mining, development and sustainability.