The environmental movement that 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 ecological disasters led to the development of widespread public support for the strict government regulation of activities that hold the potential to harm the physical environment. By the mid-1990s, many corporations had recognized a responsibility to do no harm to the physical environment. This recognition was manifested in revised products and production processes that reduced the potential for environmental harm. Further, many corporations have found that it is not only possible but also feasible to reduce pollution and increase profits simultaneously (Hart, 1997).
Although many corporations have accepted a responsibility not to harm the physical environment, far more have either not accepted such a responsibility or have demonstrated little commitment to such acceptance of responsibility in actual practice. Further, although the essential premise of corporate social responsibility is the integration of business activity and the broader society, neither corporations nor government (representing society) have defined precise mechanisms to attach real accountability to a corporate social responsibility toward the physical environment (Russo & Fouts, 1997).
Suggestions have been made that the most appropriate mechanism for the linking of accountability and corporate social responsibility for the physical environment is through a demonstration that a positive relationship exists between corporate responsibility and environmental performance. The assumption underlying such suggestions is that the profit motive will cause corporations to adopt and implement policies that prote...