Literature

Changing Corporations:

An Assessment of the Indicators of Environmental Behavior in the Chemical Manufacturing Industry

By Cristina Turney

and

Sarah Winkeller

A practicum submitted

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Master of Science

(Natural Resources and Environment)

at the University of Michigan

December 2006

Faculty advisors:

Professor Andrew J. Hoffman, Ph.D., Holcim (U.S.) Professor of

Sustainable Enterprise

Professor Thomas P. Lyon, Ph.D., Dow Chemical Professor of

Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce

Table of Contents

Abstract iii

Problem Definition 1

Literature Review 2

How Our Research Differs from Scholarship 6

Theoretical Framework 7

Methodology 13

Discussion of Variables 14

Social Drivers 14

Environmental NGOs 14

Press 15

The Courts 18

The Community 20

Academia 22

Coercive Drivers 24

Domestic Regulation 24

Resource Drivers 26

Socially Responsible Investing 26

Buyers 27

Market Drivers 28

Trade Associations 28

Other Components of the Model 30

Toxic Release Inventory Data 30

Industry Lobbying Dollars 32

Median Income for Family of Four 33

Dummy variables 34

Creating the Model 35

Interpretation of the Model 39

Implications of the Model for Actors 41

Implications for Activists 41

Implications for the Corporate Executive 42

Implications for Environmental NGOs 42

Limitations of the Model 44

Data limitations 44

Limitations of using a statistical model 45

Suggested Improvements to Our Model for Future Researchers 46

Model Methodology Improvements 49

Conclusion 51

Bibliography 52

Appendices 53

Appendix 1: Model with all Variables 53

Appendix 2: Robust Model with all Variables 54

Appendix 3: Final Model 55

Appendix 4: Final Model 56

Appendix 5: Sources of Data for Variables 57

Appendix 6: Additional Data Graphs 59

Abstract

This paper presents a statistical model that quantifies the influence...