Corporate-Led Environmental Governance: A Theoretical Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-122
Author(s):  
Yuhao Ba

The growing reliance on non-state environmental governance (EG) coupled with the current U.S. political environment portends an increasing salience of governing efforts from non-state actors. Among non-state actors, corporations play a substantial role given their market and societal power, their corresponding social responsibilities, and their organizational and institutional adaptability in developing and performing EG solutions. This article proposes a corporate-led environmental governance (CLEG) model. An important distinction between previous iterations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance and the CLEG model proposed here is the active assertion of corporate environmental leadership as state leadership is subject to retrenchment in the United States.

Corporate social responsibility in Western countries has evolved to impact corporate governance, responsible manufacturing, and resource conservation. The citizens are more aware and vigilant for any discrepancy on the part of the corporations. The United States of America and the United Kingdom are considered the yardsticks for CSR practices in Western countries. Countries have enacted a law regulating companies to disclose their CSR practices. The companies also perform CSR practices due to enhancing their brand image and connecting with society. The magnitude of CSR practices depends on company size and financial muscle. However, for public CSR initiative and its reach depends more on the size of the donation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002200272110411
Author(s):  
Vincent Bauer ◽  
Michael Reese ◽  
Keven Ruby

Scholars of civil wars have long argued that non-state actors can use selective punishment to reduce collaboration with state adversaries. However, there is little systematic evidence confirming this claim, nor investigation into the mechanisms at play. In this paper, we provide such evidence from the drone war in Pakistan. Militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas engaged in a brutal counterespionage campaign with the aim of reducing collaboration with the United States. Our analysis combines a novel dataset of collaborator killings with data on drone strike outcomes. We find that strikes killed half as many militant leaders and fighters following collaborator killings and that this suppressive effect likely works by deterring spying in the future. Beyond providing an empirical confirmation of the selective punishment hypothesis, our paper suggests an unacknowledged vulnerability of the drone program to reprisals against local allies and collaborators that limits its effectiveness as a long-term tool of counterterrorism.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Donald Elliot ◽  
Daniel C. Esty

Providing a comprehensive overview of the current and developing state of environmental governance in the United States, this Advanced Introduction lays out the foundations of U.S. environmental law. E. Donald Elliott and Daniel C. Esty explore how federal environmental law is made and how it interacts with state law, highlighting the important role that administrative agencies play in the creation, implementation, and enforcement of U.S. environmental law.


1977 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milton Silverman

A survey was conducted on the promotion of 28 prescription drugs in the form of 40 different products marketed in the United States and Latin America by 23 multinational pharmaceutical companies. Striking differences were found in the manner in which the identical drug, marketed by the identical company or its foreign affiliate, was described to physicians in the United States and to physicians in Latin America. In the United States, the listed indications were usually few in number, while the contraindications, warnings, and potential adverse reactions were given in extensive detail. In Latin America, the listed indications were far more numerous, while the hazards were usually minimized, glossed over, or totally ignored. The differences were not simply between the United States on the one hand and all the Latin American countries on the other. There were substantial differences within Latin America, with the same global company telling one story in Mexico, another in Central America, a third in Ecuador and Colombia, and yet another in Brazil. The companies have sought to defend these practices by contending that they are not breaking any Latin American laws. In some countries, however, such promotion is in clear violation of the law. The corporate ethics and social responsibilities concerned here call for examination and action.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiyu Zhao ◽  
Robert Percival

AbstractThe proper division of responsibility for environmental protection between national and state governments has long been the subject of fierce debate. During the 1970s the United States Congress decided to shift the most important environmental responsibilities from state governments to the federal government. The main reason for this decision was to prevent a ‘race to the bottom’ in that states competing for industries could otherwise be lax in implementing and enforcing federal environmental standards. Yet, some scholars have argued that there could just as easily be a ‘race to the top’ among states as they compete to attract people and businesses concerned with environmental protection. China, in turn, is plagued with severe air and water pollution and soil contamination, which is attributed largely to ineffective enforcement of its national environmental laws. This article investigates whether China’s experience confirms the race-to-the-bottom theory. It demonstrates that devolution of responsibility for environmental protection to lower levels of government tends to result in lax implementation and enforcement of national environmental laws, particularly where national governments also create strong incentives for economic growth. It concludes that China’s highly devolved system of environmental governance is consistent with this theory, even if it does not provide conclusive evidence of its correctness.


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