Issues of
global warming, emission of CO2 gases, and corporate social responsibility are
receiving increasing attention from interest groups, legal and governmental
establishments, and the media. Review of
the literature indicates that most companies regardless of size have written
environmental policies and the degrees to the success of environmental policy
implementation depends on leadership, industry, and buy in of the host
countries citizens (Jones, 2010; Prakash, 2001; Ramus & Montiel,
2005; Reichert, Webb, & Thomas, 2000). In
this paper, after a review of the literature, four public companies' environmental
policies were scrutinized and a comparison and contrast report examining the
"green" policies is presented of General Electric (GE), McDonalds,
The Coca-Cola Company, and United Parcel Services (UPS).
Literature Review
Reichert
and Webb, 2000 sampled 146 firms of varying sizes finding that 83.5% have
formal written environmental policies and that companies involved in
technology, science and natural resources were more likely to have
environmental policies implemented (Reichert,
et al., 2000).
Prakash, 2001 found companies that had environmental policies that went
beyond compliance did so due to internal process of power based and leadership
based (Prakash,
2001).
Ramus and
Montiel, 2005 determined that environmental policies do not vary greatly
between industries, however, there is a great difference between industries in
implementation and that industries that dealt with pollutants, natural resources
or consumer safety were most successful at implementation (Ramus &
Montiel, 2005).
Jones, 2010 indicate the effectiveness of environmental policy adoption
and implementation is highly impacted by acceptance and cooperation of citizens
(Jones, 2010).
Comparison and Contrast of
Environmental or "Green" Policies
General Electric (GE)
GE's Website contains sections that describe its environmental policies in its
conduct of integrity for suppliers, contractors and consultants. In addition, in the GE innovations stories
there is mention of carbon-free cities for the future. In the 10-K public annual report,
there is a section of Environmental Matters.
Managing interdependence
between host and home countries is discussed in the code of conduct for integrity
of suppliers, contractors and consultant, specifically mentioned is that the
laws and regulations of the host country is upheld by GE. Social responsibility and ethics are
addressed on the Website in several areas, worldwide activities, corporate
governance, citizenship, research and development, and corporate culture—GE
they "bring good things to life" (General Electric
Website, 2012).
McDonalds
McDonalds Website
contains sections on sustainability, which is environmentally centered, and a
standard of business conduct. In the
10-K public annual report, the latest found was for 2010, there is not a
section on Environmental Matters.
However, the Website has a detailed Environmental Responsibility section
on the Sustainability Scorecard, which is focused on most countries in the
world—its seems they are in most of the developing countries. Managing
interdependence between host and home countries is addressed in the
Sustainability Scorecard, as well as, social responsibility, and ethics (McDonalds
Website, 2012).
The Coca-Cola Company
Coke's Website
contains a detailed sustainability section that focuses on its environmental policies
worldwide. It has a code of Business
Conduct, corporate governance, culture, and energy and climate section. In the 10-K public annual report there is not
a section dedicated to environmental section, however, in the complete annual
report there is a vastly detailed section dedicated to environmental policies
throughout the world. Managing interdependence between host and
home countries is addressed in the Code of Business Conduct and corporate
citizenship and includes social responsibility, and ethics on the global scale (The Coca Cola
Company Website, 2012).
United Parcel Service (UPS)
The UPS Website
contains explicit detail on environmental policies. There is a section for Code of Conduct for
Business and Sustainability. Furthermore,
there is a section on carbon footprints and environmental policies on a global
scale—including addressing climate change.
In the 10-K public annual report, there is a section dedicated to
Environmental Matters. Managing interdependence between host
and home countries is addressed in the annual report and the Website. Social responsibility and ethics is detailed
component of the Website and the annual report—there is a detailed report in
the code of conduct (UPS Website,
2012) .
Summary
GE,
McDonald's, The Coca Cola Company, and UPS all had environmental policies on
their Websites and 10-K annual reports.
UPS had the most detailed and was an example of how industry is
associated with corporate responsibility—they are the company that has the most
impact on the environment of all the companies due to the nature of
transportation and emission of harmful polluntants—CO2 emissions. All four companies had environmental policies
and the industry dictated the detail of the policies as was indicated in the Reichert
and Webb, 2000 and Prakash, 2001 studies.
Coke's environmental policies were less detailed of the four companies,
which was somewhat of a surprise. As
Ramus and Montiel, 2005 found some companies are more involved in industrial
ecology just because it is the nature of their business and reputation is
important (Prakash,
2001; Ramus &
Montiel, 2005; Reichert, et al., 2000).
References
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