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Setting its own standards and meeting those standards: voluntarism versus regulation in environmental reporting

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  • Josephine Maltby

Abstract

It is often asserted that a voluntary approach to environmental issues is preferable to regulation. Supporters of voluntary environmental reporting claim that businesses will produce reports that meet the requirements of their stakeholders without the need for government intervention. This argument is currently being deployed in the UK to oppose the setting of mandatory reporting requirements. This present paper considers the use of ‘stakeholder theory’ in support of the voluntary approach and evaluates the claim that businesses will choose to make adequate environmental disclosures. Alternatives to a voluntary regime are discussed.© 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Josephine Maltby, 1997. "Setting its own standards and meeting those standards: voluntarism versus regulation in environmental reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 83-92, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:6:y:1997:i:2:p:83-92
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0836(199705)6:23.0.CO;2-U
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Elkington, 1993. "Coming clean: The rise and rise of the corporate environment report," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(2), pages 42-44, June.
    2. Preston, Lee E. & Sapienza, Harry J., 1990. "Stakeholder management and corporate performance," Journal of Behavioral Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 361-375.
    3. Josephine Maltby, 1995. "Not paying for our past: Government, business and the debate on contaminated land in the UK," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(2), pages 73-85, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jyrki Niskanen & Terhi Nieminen, 2001. "The objectivity of corporate environmental reporting: a study of Finnish listed firms' environmental disclosures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 29-37, January.
    2. Comyns, Breeda & Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias & Barkemeyer, Ralf, 2013. "Sustainability reporting: The role of “Search”, “Experience” and “Credence” information," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 231-243.
    3. Crawford Spence, 2009. "Social and environmental reporting and the corporate ego," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 254-265, May.
    4. Pontus Cerin, 2002. "Communication in corporate environmental reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(1), pages 46-65, March.
    5. Wendy Stubbs & Colin Higgins, 2018. "Stakeholders’ Perspectives on the Role of Regulatory Reform in Integrated Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 489-508, February.
    6. Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen & Peter Neergaard & Janni Thusgaard Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz, 2013. "Conformance and Deviance: Company Responses to Institutional Pressures for Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6), pages 357-373, September.
    7. Irja Vormedal & Audun Ruud, 2009. "Sustainability reporting in Norway – an assessment of performance in the context of legal demands and socio‐political drivers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 207-222, May.
    8. Marc Goergen & Christine A. Mallin & Eve Mitleton-Kelly & Ahmed Al-Hawamdeh & Iris H-Y Chiu, 2010. "Corporate Governance and Complexity Theory," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13927.
    9. Judy Brown & Michael Fraser, 2006. "Approaches and perspectives in social and environmental accounting: an overview of the conceptual landscape," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 103-117, March.
    10. Breeda Comyns, 2016. "Determinants of GHG Reporting: An Analysis of Global Oil and Gas Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 349-369, June.
    11. Anja Schaefer, 2009. "Corporate greening and changing regulatory regimes: the UK water industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 320-333, July.
    12. Siv Nyquist, 2003. "The legislation of environmental disclosures in three Nordic countries—a comparison," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 12-25, January.

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