Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in China

Zhaojun Yang,Weihao Liu,Yali Zhang,Jun Sun

doi:10.3390/su9101756

Abstract

In China, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) play an important supervisory role to address ecological issues together with government regulation and enterprise implementation. This study examines the effect of ENGO presence on corporate environmental responsibility (CER) performance, along with internal factors as covariate variables. With a sample of 677 enterprises, it operationalizes the independent variable in terms of the number of ENGOs within certain distances from each enterprise, and the dependent variable based on the corporate social responsibility report using the specific criteria in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines. The results of Tobit regression analyses indicate that ENGO presence is conducive to CER performance, and asset size, power concentration, and industry type also make differences. The findings suggest that ENGOs are helpful in solving environment issues by bridging the gap between private and public sectors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Highlights

In recent years, the large-scale smog in China has drawn the attention of the public to environmental issues [1]
Based on a literature review, this study conceptualizes the relationship between environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) presence and corporate environmental responsibility (CER) performance
The independent and dependent variables are ENGO presence and CER performance derived from an environmental organization map and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) evaluation system, respectively, in addition to management and financial indicators as covariate variables

Summary

Introduction

The large-scale smog in China has drawn the attention of the public to environmental issues [1]. As the main undertaker of economic development, enterprises have to answer for the whole society They are responsible for market demands, and resource conservation and environment protection. Enterprises need to enhance ecological awareness and initiate protective activities In this regard, corporate environmental responsibility (CER) manifests an enterprise’s understanding and undertaking of environmental problems [2]. Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) fill the niche of supervising corporate behavior and raising public awareness [4] Their emergence promotes the participation of the general public on environmental impact assessments [5]. This study examines the phenomenon from the perspective of how third-party supervision affects enterprise behavior in sustainable development It collects data from different sources and conducts statistical analyses on the relationship between the presence of ENGOs and the CER performance of enterprises. The relationship between ENGOs and CER points out the direction of future research on the interaction among ENGOs, enterprises, government, and the public on environment protection

Research Background

ENGO Presence

Covariate Variables

Model Specification

Results

Conclusions and Implications