experiences of the commercial banks that have integrated ASD considerations into the lending decision-making process found that such integration was effective as a linking mechanism for corporate accountability and responsibility. Further, these experiences demonstrate that banks not only include ASD considerations in lending decisions, but also initiate ASD systems.
Survey research found that the majority of both financial accountants in the corporate sector and environmental protection advocates agreed that ASD integrated in to the commercial bank lending decision-making process is an effective means of linking corporate accountability and responsibility in relation to environmental protection. Variations in the responses of the two groups were not statistically significant at p < .05. Therefore, agreement was solid that the introduction of ASD is an effective means of linking corporate accountability and responsibility in relation to environmental protection.
Two major conclusions were drawn from the finding of this study. These conclusions were as follows:
1. The introduction of an ASD system into corporate financial accounting systems and into commercial lending decisions, while complex, is feasible.
2. The introduction of an ASD system into corporate financial accounting systems and into commercial lending decisions is beneficial not only to environmental protection, but also is beneficial to corporations and commercial banks.
INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The environmental movement was initiated with Earth Day in 1970 (O'Riordan, 1995). This movement, thus, will be three decades old in the spring of this year (2000). Corporations, during the earlier years of this movement were characterized by a state of denial with respect to the impact of their operations on the physical environment. A series of ecologically relevant disasters led to the development of widespread public support for the str...