Corporate environmental responsibility

Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) refers to a company's duties to abstain from damaging natural environments.

Since then, managers, scholars, and business owners have tried to determine why and how big corporations should incorporate environmental aspects into their own policies.

There are different perceptions of corporate social responsibility between government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and society in general, and thus, the concept has no single definition.

It is the continuing commitment by a business to behave fairly and responsibly and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.

These cover the environmental implications of a company's operations: Among the main drivers for CER are government policies and regulations.

Many states provide their own legislation, regulations and policies, which are important in creating a positive environmental attitude within companies.

Another significant factor is the competitive environment among companies generated by media, public, shareholder and NGO awareness, which are also major drivers of CER.

[6] Another challenge is the lack of harmonization of regulations among different states—often there is a mosaic of propositions, leading to unclear strategies for environmental behavior, especially in multinational corporations.

Furthermore Companies work within the framework of the society and country that they operate in meaning that corporations cannot be held solely responsible for lack of legislation on pollution and emissions.

There were several agreements internationally to help adopt new business practices that held these standards, but they were considered individual and there was no law-abiding body to regulate nor implement them.

In a recent study, the researcher found that firms support climate change legislation as a means of gaining power over their competitors.

Globalization also plays a key role in the adoption of new environmental strategies as a multi-faceted process influencing modern societies, and creating interconnected and multidimensional environments.