Profit and the Environment

How companies are staying in the black-by going green
Adopting "green policies" is now essential to maintaining a company's healthy public image, and their bottom line. No longer a "fringe" issue, adhering to policies that protect the environment is also a matter of law. Companies that seriously violate environmental regulations are prosecuted, their reputations and share value damaged. Written by a former environmental lawyer and an environmental consultant, this informative book explains the benefits obtained through a sound environmental policy and how to finance environmental strategies that will favorably impact the bottom line. Complete with case studies of major companies (such as Shell and BP) as well as international examples, this book presents expert, up-to-date advice on how an environmental policy can be successfully managed
to benefit both the company and investor alike.Das Thema Umwelt hat für Unternehmen eine große Bedeutung bekommen. Durch immer umfassendere Umweltgesetze und öffentlichen Druck sind Unternehmen gezwungen, verbesserte Umweltstandards einzuführen. Gelingt es einem Unternehmen nicht, die Umweltauflagen zu erfüllen, so führt dies zu einem Verlust des guten Rufs und in Verbindung damit zu Kursverlusten, wie das Beispiel von Shell in den letzten Jahren deutlich gezeigt hat. Umgekehrt wirken sich eine solide Umweltpolitik und umweltschützende Maßnahmen vorteilhaft auf die Unternehmensbewertung und den Börsenkurs aus.
"Corporate Risk and the Environment" erläutert sowohl die Umweltrisiken, denen sich ein Unternehmen stellen muss als auch die Vorteile, die ihm eine vernünftige Umweltpolitik einbringt. Darüber hinaus wird gezeigt, wie Unternehmen ihre Umweltstrategien finanzieren und wie sich dies in ihrer Bilanz auswirkt. Mit Fallstudien und Interviews großer internationaler Konzerne, wie z.B. BP und Shell. Eine unverzichtbare Lektüre für Investoren und Kapitalgeber. Acknowledgements.

List of Abbreviations.

A Brief Introduction to the Environment

PART I A CHANGING WORLD

1 The Environment

Introduction

Climate change

Population growth

Water resources

Disappearing forests

Depletion of fish stocks

Industrial pollution

Sustainable development

The European Union

The Bellagio Principles

Conclusion

2 The Rapid Development of Environmental Law

Introduction

How US law is made

The EU legislative system

The development of environmental law

US law on the atmosphere

EU air pollution regulation

Water regulation in the US

EU water law

Contaminated land: the US perspective

EU contaminated land regulation

US waste regulation

EU waste regulation

Conclusion

3 Reputational Issues

Introduction

What is reputation?

Stakeholders

Making a corporate commitment

Reputation and shareholder activism

Reputation and strategic partnership

Reputation and the unthinkable

Conclusion

PART II THE CORPORATE RESPONSE

4 Environmental Accounting and Reporting

Introduction

The emergence of environmental accounting

Environmental issues in financial accounting

Definition of environmental costs

Environmentally induced costs: assets or expenses

THE IASC approach

Summary of environmental accounting

Environmental reporting

Different approaches to environmental reporting

GRI sustainability reporting guidelines

Independent review

Conclusion

5 Socially Responsible Investing

A short history of ethical investment

Research methodology

The Morley approach

The Friends Provident system

The Dow Jones sustainablility group index

The FTSE4Good indices

Risk issues

The Turnbull Report

Shareholder engagement

6 The Sustainable Company: Some Case Studies

Introduction

Bristol-Myers Squibb

ICI

UBS

7 How to Identify a Strong Performer

Introduction

The environment: spurring the next revolution?

Environmental management systems

Communicating between companies and investors

Conclusion

8 SMEs and the Environment

Introduction

Definitions of an SME

Environment: perceived attitudes of SMEs

SMEs and environmental management

Climate change levy and other issues

Environmental reporting and accounting

9 Final Thoughts

Bibliography

Index HILARY STONE is a specialist in environmental law. Originally a lawyer in private practice specialising in advising corporate clients on environmental issues, she currently lectures at the Centre for Environmental Research, Brunel University .

JOHN WASHINGTON-SMITH is an independent environmental consultant specialising in environmental management, auditing and training. He was previously the RAF's head of environmental policy, which gave him considerable experience of managing both environmental and public relations issues. As shareholders and governments demand higher environmental standards from companies, so it is necessary for directors and financiers to become more aware of the issues involved. Similarly a company's policy also impacts on the share price and therefore also on investors.

This book discusses the consequences of companies' environmental policy in a clear, concise manner. The authors place the issues in an historical context before proceeding to describe the effect this has on present corporate thinking. How the environment impacts on policy is also described. The authors use an easy to follow, step by step approach, backing their arguments with case studies of major multinational companies.

The book features the following issues:
* The environment

* The rapid development of environmental law

* Reputational issues

* Environmental accounting and reporting

* Socially responsible investing

* The sustainable company

* How to identify a strong performer In recent years it has been recognised that stronger environmental regulation of trade and industry has been required. Both the US and European Union have put in place new stringent controls on business. This coupled with increased public pressure has meant that companies now have to pay greater attention to environmental issues. This is especially true as the public perception of a company will affect greatly its share price.

This book describes the issues surrounding business practice and the environment, both for corporate directors and for investors.