Drivers and drawbacks: regulation and environmental risk management systems

In the literature on environmental risk management in firms, it is often proposed that environmental performance and innovation are driven primarily by external forces, such as regulatory or market pressures. But gradually, organisational forces in business itself are also suggested as drivers for the improvement of environmental performance (Andrews et al, 2001). Many companies have adopted systems approaches in their corporate strategy. Organisational strategies include quality, health and safety, and environmental systems approaches. In systemising, management companies seek to improve the evaluation of organisational performance. One of these systematic approaches involves environmental management. Systems of internal company environmental management include elements such as an environmental policy statement, an environmental programme, the integration of environmental management in business operation, internal monitoring, information, training and environmental reporting and auditing (Aalders, 1993)