Logic of Corporate Environmentalism: 'Beyond-Compliance' Environmental Policymaking in Baxter International Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company

Abstract

"In this dissertation I examine some of the processes of environmental policymaking and inter-managerial interactions within firms. I focus on 'beyond-compliance' environmental policies: those that seek to deliver more than the requirements of current laws and regulations. Treating 'corporate environmentalism' as equivalent to adopting beyond-compliance policies, my theoretical puzzle is: why firms adopt or do not adopt beyond-compliance policies? I examine questions such as: how do managers make decisions on environmental policies; what are the decision criteria; do managers have different preferences on environmental policies, and if so, then do such differences impact policy adoption; are beyond-compliance policies adopted only if they are projected to deliver adequate levels of monetizable profits assessed through established procedures; how are non-monetary benefits brought into the equation, if they are at all; does the hierarchical position of policy-supporters and policy-skeptics matter? Since answers to these questions vary across firms, and across policies within a specific firm, I investigate internal processes and intermanagerial interactions on environmental policymaking."