There is a limited body of research into what drives some major companies to become aware of their environmental responsibility,
what drives some to develop policies, and for an even smaller number of companies, what drives them to act on these policies
and actually change their practices to become more environmentally responsible.
This paper draws on part of the research conducted for a PhD, and looks at what a selection of senior business leaders from
major Australian and international companies, as well as key academics, corporate analysts and environmentalists believe are
the major drivers for corporate environmental responsibility (CER). While the key finding, namely that government legislation
or the threat of legislation, is the number one driver, came as no surprise and concurs with findings of other studies (Emtairah
et al.: 2002, Who Creates the Market for Green Products? An Analysis of the Role of Different Actors in Relation to Supply and Demand of
Green Products, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; Faruk: 2002, The Ashridge Journal; Husted: 2003, Environmental Science & Policy 2, 61–74), what was a surprise was the level of support from business leaders for more government intervention in the form of
policies, including legislative, to encourage or force greater CER.
Keywords CSR - corporate responsibility - environmental responsibility - corporate governance - sustainability - environmental policy - corporate culture