1、1本科毕业论文（设计）外文翻译外文题目ENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGOFGLOBALCORPORATIONSACONTENTANALYSISBASEDONWEBSITEDISCLOSURES外文出处JOUMALOFBUSINESSETHICS2007,724307321外文作者ANITAJOSE,SHANGMEILEE原文ENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGOFGLOBALCORPORATIONSACONTENTANALYSISBASEDONWEBSITEDISCLOSURESINTRODUCTIONOVERTHEYEARS,SOCIETALEXPECTATIONSOFC
2、ORPORATEPERFORMANCEHAVECHANGEDCONSIDERABLYATTHEHEARTOFTHISCHANGEISTHECALLFORGREATERENVIRONMENTALSUSTAINABILITYDIFFERENTSTAKEHOLDERGROUPS,ESPECIALLYTHEREGULATORYANDCORPORATEWATCHDOGGROUPS,AREPUTTINGGREATPRESSUREONCORPORATIONSTOBECOMEMOREENVIRONMENTALLYRESPONSIBLETHEREHASBEENANINCREASEINTHENUMBEROFCOU
3、NTRIESTHATHAVEPASSEDREGULATIONSREQUIRINGSOMESORTOFPUBLICDISCLOSUREOFCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONEXAMPLESOFSUCHCOUNTRIESINCLUDEJAPAN,DENMARK,NEWZEALAND,ANDTHENETHERLANDSKOLK,2003ASENVIRONMENTALSUSTAINABILITYBECAMEANIMPORTANTCONCERNFORORGANIZATIONSANDENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSUREBECAMEASTAKEHOLDERREQUI
4、REMENT,ORGANIZATIONSTRIEDTOINSTITUTIONALIZEENVIRONMENTALCONCERNSTHROUGHPOLICIES,PROCEDURES,ANDSYSTEMSJONESETAL,1998RUSSOANDFOUTS,1997THECORPORATEENVIRONMENTALMOVEMENTISCOMPRISEDOFTWODISTINCTSTAGESCHARACTERIZEDBYDIFFERENTDRIVINGFORCESDURINGTHEEARLYSTAGE,THEMOVEMENTWASDRIVENBYTHECOMPLIANCEBASEDPARADIG
5、MINWHICHLEGALANDREGULATORYCONSIDERATIONSWERETHEPRIMARYDRIVINGFORCESBEHINDCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALRESPONSESLI,2001ROSEN,2001THISPHASEWASCHARACTERIZEDBYLAWOBEDIENCE2BEHAVIOR,DRIVENBYCOMMANDANDCONTROLORREGULATORYREGIMEBASEDCONSIDERATIONS,ANDINTERNALLYJUSTIFIEDBYCOSTCONSIDERATIONSDURINGTHISPHASE,CORPORATE
6、ENVIRONMENTALRESPONSESWEREMOREREACTIVETOEXTERNALPRESSURES,PRIMARILYREGULATORYPRESSURESHART,1995LI,2001THESECONDSTAGEISDRIVENBYTHECOMPETITIVEADVANTAGEBASEDVIEW,WHICHARGUESTHATECONOMICSANDECOLOGYARECOMPATIBLEANDSUPERIORENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCELEADSTOABOVEAVERAGEINDUSTRYPROFITSROSEN,2001RUSSOANDFOUTS,1
7、997ACCORDINGTOTHISVIEW,CORPORATIONSWITHPROACTIVEENVIRONMENTALPROGRAMSHAVEACOMPETITIVEADVANTAGEBECAUSETHEIRBETTERREPUTATIONRESONATESFAVORABLYWITHSTAKEHOLDERGROUPSSUCHASCUSTOMERS,EMPLOYEES,ANDTHEPUBLICINGENERALDECHANTANDALTMAN,1994RUSSOANDFOUTS,1997STARIK,1995OTHERFACTORSTHATCONTRIBUTETOTHECOMPETITIVE
8、ADVANTAGEBASEDONENVIRONMENTALSUSTAINABILITYAREBETTERTECHNOLOGYANDSHARPERPOLITICALACUMENTOINFLUENCEPUBLICPOLICYSTARIK，1995THEUNDERLYINGPREMISEOFTHESECONDSTAGEISTHATSTAKEHOLDERSEXPECTCOMPANIESTOBEENVIRONMENTALLYRESPONSIBLEANDHENCETHEREISAMARKETPREMIUMFORTHISIMPROVEDENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCESTAKEHOLDERP
9、RESSUREACTSUPONCOMPANIESINTWODIFFERENTFORMSNOTONLYARECOMPANIESEXPECTEDTOEFFECTIVELYMANAGETHEIRENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCE,BUTTHEYAREALSOTOBEACCOUNTABLEFORTHISPERFORMANCEBURRITT,2000ASARESULT,THEREHASBEENANINCREASEINTHENUMBEROFCOMPANIESPROVIDINGENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURESDEEGANANDGORDON,1996HOWEVER,TWOMAJO
10、RPROBLEMSHAVEPLAGUEDTHESEREPORTSINTHEPASTONE,THEREWASNOSTANDARDIZATIONORUNIFORMITYINTERMSOFWHATVARIOUSCOMPANIESREPORTEDHENCE,THESEREPORTSVARIEDWIDELYFROMCOMPANYTOCOMPANYINTERMSOFTHEIRCONTENTMACLEAN,2000WRIGHT,1995TWO,ASCORPORATIONSSTARTEDTOUSEENVIRONMENTALREPORTSTOCOMMUNICATETOSTAKEHOLDERGROUPSREGAR
11、DINGTHEIRENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCE,THEDISSEMINATIONOFTHESEREPORTSBECAMEANISSUEASITWASNOTPRACTICALTODISTRIBUTEHARDCOPIESTOALLINTERESTEDPARTIESJONESETAL,1998WHILEORGANIZATIONSGRAPPLEDWITHTHEABOVEMENTIONEDPROBLEMS,NONGOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONSNGOSANDTECHNOLOGICALADVANCESSEEMEDTOOFFER3THEMINNOVATIVESOLUTI
12、ONSTOSOLVETHESEPROBLEMSTHEPROBLEMOFCONTENTSTANDARDIZATIONANDUNIFORMITYWASADDRESSEDBYANUMBEROFASSOCIATIONSANDNGOSINTERNATIONALSTANDARDSORGANIZATIONSISO14001GUIDELINESANDEUROPEANUNIONSECOMANAGEMENTANDAUDITSCHEMEEMASWEREINTRODUCEDASAWAYTOSTANDARDIZECORPORATEENVIRONMENTALPRACTICESINORDERTOPROVIDEACONSIS
13、TENTGUIDELINETODISSEMINATEENVIRONMENTALINFORMATION,SOMESTANDARDSFORENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGWERECREATEDSUCHPOPULARSTANDARDSINCLUDETHEPUBLICENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGINITIATIVEPERI,THECERESREPORTFROMTHECOALITIONFORENVIRONMENTALLYRESPONSIBLEECONOMICSCERES,THEICCBUSINESSCHARTERFORSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTICC,AND
14、THEGLOBALREPORTINGINITIATIVEGRIBUCHHOLZ,1998WENNBERG,1998ITISBEYONDTHESCOPEOFTHISPAPERTOELABORATEONALLTHEPRINCIPLESSETFORTHESESTANDARDSHOWEVER,THEREAREMANYCOMMONDENOMINATORSINTERMSOFTHEIRRECOMMENDATIONSFORCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTTHESECOMMONALITIESINCLUDEHAVINGANENVIRONMENTALPOLICYTOGOVERNOPE
15、RATIONS,ANENVIRONMENTALSYSTEMTOTRANSLATETHEPOLICYINTOPRACTICEBYINTEGRATINGENVIRONMENTALCONCERNSTHROUGHOUTTHEDIFFERENTORGANIZATIONALANDFUNCTIONALAREAPROCESSES,ACOMMITMENTTOIMPROVEENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCEBYCONTINUOUSLYRESEARCHINGBESTPRACTICESANDREASSESSINGOPERATIONS,AREQUIREMENTTHATCONTRACTORSANDSUPPL
16、IERSCONFORMTOENVIRONMENTALSTANDARDS,ANDANOPENCOMMUNICATIONCHANNELTOFOSTERDIALOGWITHDIFFERENTSTAKEHOLDERGROUPSTHEISSUEOFDISSEMINATIONHASBEENRESOLVEDASTHEINTERNETANDTHEWORLDWIDEWEBPROVIDEDORGANIZATIONSWITHACHEAP,FAST,ANDEASYINFORMATIONDISSEMINATIONTOOLJONESETAL1998MARKEN,1998GIVENTHEEVERINCREASINGNUMB
17、EROFINTERNETUSERS,COMPANIESHAVETURNEDTOITFROMMORETRADITIONALMASSMEDIAASTHEIRPREFERREDCOMMUNICATIONCHANNELSNIDERETAL,2003THE2002KPMGSURVEYOFCORPORATESUSTAINABILITYREPORTINGALSOSHOWSTHATMOREANDMORECOMPANIESAREUSINGTHEINTERNETASATOOLTOCOMMUNICATETHEIRENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCETHEPURPOSEOFTHISPAPERISTOINV
18、ESTIGATETHEENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTPOLICIESANDPRACTICESOFTHEWORLDS200LARGESTCOMPANIESASDISCLOSEDONTHEIRCORPORATE4WEBSITESMORESPECIFICALLY,THISSTUDYANALYZESTHECONTENTOFCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURESWITHRESPECTTOTHEFOLLOWINGSEVENAREASENVIRONMENTALPLANNINGCONSIDERATIONS,TOPMANAGEMENTSUPPORTTOTHEINSTI
19、TUTIONALIZATIONOFENVIRONMENTALCONCERNS,ENVIRONMENTALSTRUCTURESANDORGANIZINGSPECIFICS,ENVIRONMENTALLEADERSHIPACTIVITIES,ENVIRONMENTALCONTROL,EXTERNALVALIDATIONSORCERTIFICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALPROGRAMS,ANDFORMSOFCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURESTHISPAPERCONTRIBUTESTOTHELITERATUREONCORPORATEENVIRONMENTA
20、LREPORTINGINTWOUNIQUEWAYSFIRSTISITSCOMPREHENSIVENESSWEINVESTIGATEDSEVENAREASCOMPRISINGOF34SPECIFICENVIRONMENTALPARAMETERS,WHICHAREDERIVEDFROMANUMBEROFENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGGUIDELINES,INCLUDINGTHEICCANDGRIGUIDELINESTABLEIINTHERESEARCHMETHODOLOGYSECTIONPRESENTSTHEVARIABLESTHATWEUSEINTHISSTUDYSECONDISO
21、URLARGESAMPLESIZE,WHICHCONSISTSOFACROSSSECTIONOFTHEWORLDSLARGESTCOMPANIESUNLIKEMANYSTUDIESTHATHAVEALIMITEDSAMPLESIZEORAREINDUSTRYORCOUNTRYSPECIFIC,WEHAVEARELATIVELYLARGESAMPLESIZEOF200COMPANIESFROMDIFFERENTINDUSTRIESANDDIFFERENTCOUNTRIESLITERATUREONENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGOVERTHELASTDECADE,THEREHASBEE
22、NANINCREASEINTHENUMBEROFCOMPANIESPROVIDINGENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONDEEGANANDGORDON,1996KOLK,2003KPMG,1999,2002PECK,2003ALITERATUREREVIEWOFCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURESSHOWSFOURMAJORSTREAMSOFRESEARCHTHEFIRSTSTREAMDEALSWITHWHOREPORTSENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONANDHOWTHISREPORTINGHASBENEFITEDTHEREPORTER
23、SMEEKANDROBERTS,1995NIEMINENANDNISKANEN,2001RUSSOANDFOUTS,1997INOTHERWORDS,THEEMPHASISHEREISONTHECHARACTERISTICSOFTHECOMPANIESTHATREPORTENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONANDTHERELATIONSHIPBETWEENSUCHREPORTINGANDFINANCIALPERFORMANCETHENEXTSTREAMOFRESEARCHISABOUTTHECONTENTOFTHEREPORTING,ORWHATISACTUALLYBEINGREP
24、ORTEDGUTHRIEANDPARKER,1990NISKALA1995THETHIRDSTREAM,WHICHISRELATIVELYNEW,DEALSWITHTHEHOWORTHEMEDIUMOFREPORTINGMOSTOFTHESTUDIESUNDERTHISSTREAMLOOKATTHEISSUESRELATINGTOTHEUSEOF5INTERNETASAMEDIUMOFENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGJONESETAL,1998THEFINALSTREAMDEALSWITHTHEASSESSMENTOFENVIRONMENTALPERFORMANCE,MOSTLYF
25、ORTHEBENEFITOFTHEINVESTMENTCOMMUNITY,TORANK/RATESUCHPERFORMANCEEG,DOWJONESSUSTAINABILITYINDEXFORTUNEENVIRONMENTALSCORECARDINVESTORRESPONSIBILITYRESEARCHRATINGANDMORHARDTETAL,2002ONEQUESTIONTHATMUSTBEADDRESSEDISWHICHCOMPANIESREPORTENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONANDWHATCHARACTERISTICSTHEYSHAREWITHOTHERCOMPAN
26、IESTHATDOTHESAMEEMPIRICALSTUDIESSHOWTHATCHARACTERISTICS,SUCHASCOMPANYSIZE,INDUSTRYTYPE,ANDGEOGRAPHICLOCATIONARETHETHREEVARIABLESTHATHAVETHEGREATESTIMPACTONVOLUNTARYENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURESMEEKANDROBERTS,1995THEREISASTRONGRELATIONSHIPBETWEENCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSUREANDINDUSTRYTYPEDEEGANANDGORD
27、ON,1996NIEMINENANDNISKANEN,2001INCONTRASTTOTHEPAST,WHEREVOLUNTARYENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGWASMOSTLYRESTRICTEDTOFIRMSFROMHIGHENVIRONMENTALIMPACTINDUSTRIESININDUSTRIALIZEDCOUNTRIES,THERECENTREPORTINGPRACTICESSHOWTHATENVIRONMENTALCOMMUNICATIONISBECOMINGCOMMONINNONINDUSTRIALSECTORSANDDIFFERENTREGIONSINTHEW
28、ORLDKPMG,2002HOWEVER,ENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGSTILLCONTINUESTOBETHEHIGHESTINCOUNTRIES,SUCHASUSA,JAPAN,GERMANY,ANDUKANDININDUSTRIES,SUCHASCHEMICALS,PHARMACEUTICALS,ELECTRONICS,ANDAUTOMOTIVEKPMG,2002SIMILARLY,COMPANYSIZEISALSOFOUNDTOBEADETERMINANTOFENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURENIEMINENANDNISKANEN,2001INTERMSOF
29、WHATISBEINGREPORTEDANDHOWTHISHASCHANGEDOVERTHEYEARS,PERHAPSTHEBESTSOURCEISTHEVARIOUSREPORTSOFKPMG,WHICHHASUNDERTAKENPERIODICSURVEYSOFTHEENVIRONMENTALANDSUSTAINABILITYPRACTICESOFMULTINATIONALCORPORATIONSSINCE1993THEKPMGINTERNATIONALSURVEYSSHOWTHATCOMPANIESREPORTTHEDETAILSOFTHEIRENVIRONMENTALPOLICIES,
30、FUTUREPLANSANDTARGETS,ANDFEATURESOFTHEIRENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTSYSTEMSEMSTHENUMBEROFCOMPANIESPROVIDINGSUCHINFORMATIONHASINCREASEDSTEADILYOVERTHEYEARSKPMG,1999,2002KOLKS1999METAANALYTICREVIEWOFENVIRONMENTALREPORTSYIELDSSIMILARRESULTSINTERMSOFTHECOMMONDENOMINATORSOFCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALREPORTSINITSSU
31、RVEYOF88CORPORATEENVIRONMENTALREPORTSOFJAPANESECOMPANIES,THEINVESTORRESEARCH6RESPONSIBILITYCENTERIRRCFOUNDTHATAPPROXIMATELY90OFTHECOMPANIESPROVIDEINFORMATIONABOUTENVIRONMENTALOBJECTIVES,ACHIEVEMENTS,ANDCOSTSBUSINESSTODAYCONDUCTEDACOMPREHENSIVESURVEYOFTHEENVIRONMENTALPRACTICESOFINDIASLARGESTCOMPANIES
32、THEYFOUNDTHAT42OFTHECOMPANIESHADISO14001CERTIFICATIONS,60HADSEPARATEENVIRONMENTDEPARTMENTS,94HADENVIRONMENTALTARGETSINPLACE,70HADINTERNALENVIRONMENTALAUDITSYSTEMS,AND60HADFACILITYLEVELENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGSYSTEMSIN40OFTHECOMPANIES,THESENIORENVIRONMENTALOFFICERSREPORTEDDIRECTLYTOTHECHIEFEXECUTIVEOFF
33、ICERSCORPORATIONSHAVECHANGEDHOWTHEYREPORTENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONALTHOUGHINTHEPAST,CORPORATIONSUSEDANNUALREPORTSTOIMPARTSUCHINFORMATIONNIEMINENANDNISKANEN,2001,NOWINCREASINGNUMBERSOFCOMPANIESAREPUBLISHINGSEPARATEENVIRONMENTALANDSUSTAINABILITYREPORTSFOREXAMPLE,ONLY15OFTHECOMPANIESINTHE1993KPMGSURVEYH
34、ADPUBLISHEDSEPARATEENVIRONMENTALREPORTS,WHEREASTHE1996SURVEYFOUNDTHAT17HADENVIRONMENTALREPORTSTHISNUMBERHADRISENTO35INTHE1999SURVEYAND45INTHE2002SUSTAINABILITYSURVEYKPMG,1999,2002THEPOPULARITYOFTHEINTERNETANDTHEWORLDWIDEWEBHASENCOURAGEDMOREANDMORECOMPANIESTOUSETHEMFORENVIRONMENTALDISCLOSURESJONESETA
35、L,1998RESEARCHMETHODOLOGYWECOLLECTEDDATAREGARDINGTHEENVIRONMENTALPOLICIESANDPRACTICESOFTHEGLOBAL200COMPANIESEVERYYEAR,FORTUNEPUBLISHESALISTOFTHEWORLDS500LARGESTCOMPANIESOURSAMPLECONSISTSOFTHELARGEST200MULTINATIONALCOMPANIESFOR2002WEDECIDEDONMULTINATIONALCOMPANIESASRESEARCHSHOWSTHAT,BECAUSEOFTHEIRSIZ
36、EANDPRESENCEINMANYCOUNTRIES,THEYHAVEAHUGEIMPACTONTHEECOLOGIESOFTHEECONOMIESINWHICHTHEYFUNCTIONINADDITION,THEGLOBALIZATIONOFCOMMERCEHASINCREASEDTHEPUBLICSAWARENESSOFTHESOCIALANDENVIRONMENTALIMPACTSOFLARGECORPORATIONSWHITE,1999DATACOLLECTIONINVOLVEDGATHERINGPUBLISHEDINFORMATIONREGARDINGTHEENVIRONMENTA
37、LDISCLOSUREPRACTICESOFTHECOMPANIESWERELIEDONCORPORATEWEBSITESFORGATHERINGENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONCONTENTANALYSISWASTHEPRIMARYTOOLUSEDFORANALYZINGTHEPUBLISHEDINFORMATIONITISATECHNIQUEFORMAKINGINFERENCESBYOBJECTIVELYANDSYSTEMATICALLYIDENTIFYING7SPECIFIEDCHARACTERISTICSOFMESSAGESHOLSTI,1969CONTENTANALY
38、SISHASBEENWIDELYUSEDINCORPORATESOCIALANDENVIRONMENTALRESPONSIBILITYRESEARCHGRAYETAL,1995EXAMPLESOFSTUDIESTHATUSETHISMETHODOLOGYINCLUDEGUTHRIEANDPARKER1989,1990,MATHEWS1993,NIEMINENANDNISKANEN2001,ANDMAIGNANANDRALSTON2002THECONTENTANALYSISMETHODTHATISUSEDINTHISRESEARCHISCONCEPTUALANALYSIS,WHICHINVOLV
39、ESCHOOSINGCERTAINCONCEPTSFOREXAMINATIONANDANALYSISANDTHENQUANTIFYINGANDTALLYINGTHEIRPRESENCEINTHECHOSENTEXTSHTTP/WWWWRITINGCOLOSTATEEDU/REFERENCES/RESEARCH/CONTENT/POP2ACFMWEUSEDTHEPRIORICODINGMETHOD,WHICHREQUIRESASTRONGTHEORETICALFOUNDATIONFORTHECODINGCATEGORIES,TOCODETHEDATAWEFOLLOWEDTHEGUIDELINES
40、OFTHEWRITINGCENTERATCOLORADOSTATEUNIVERSITYINPERFORMINGTHECONTENTANALYSISFIRSTWEIDENTIFIEDOURRESEARCHQUESTIONSANDCHOSEOURSAMPLEOF200COMPANIESANDCOLLECTEDINFORMATIONABOUTTHEIRENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTPOLICIESANDPRACTICESFROMTHEIRWEBSITESTHENWEUSEDTHELITERATURE,ESPECIALLYTHEPRINCIPLESSETFORTHINDIFFERENT
41、GUIDELINES,SUCHASICCBUSINESSCHARTER,WICE,ANDGRI,TOFORMULATEOURCODESAFTERWARDS,WEANALYZEDCORPORATEENVIRONMENTALINFORMATIONANDPLACEDTHEMINTOOURDIFFERENTCONTENTCATEGORIESINORDERTOENSURERELIABILITYANDVALIDITY,ONEOFTHERESEARCHERSACTEDASTHEPRIMARYCODERTHEOTHERRESEARCHERSPOTCHECKEDAFEWREPORTSRANDOMLYTOENSU
42、RERELIABILITYSOURCEANITAJOSE,SHANGMEILEEENVIRONMENTALREPORTINGOFGLOBALCORPORATIONSACONTENTANALYSISBASEDONWEBSITEDISCLOSURESJOUMALOFBUSINESSETHICSJ2007,723073218译文国际跨国公司的环境报告网站披露基础上的内容分析引言多年来，社会对企业绩效的期望已经发生了翻天覆地的变化。这个变化的核心是对环境可持续性的呼吁更加强烈。不同的利益相关者，特别是企业的监管和监督部门，正在加大企业对于环境责任的压力。通过法规要求企业对公众披露环境信息的国家数量正在
43、增长，这些国家包括日本，丹麦、新西兰以及荷兰（科尔克，2003）。环境的可持续性正成为组织关注的焦点，环境信息披露成为利益相关者的要求，组织希望通过政策、程序和制度使环境问题规范化（琼斯等人，1998；富茨，1997）。企业的环境运动是由以不同驱动力为特征的两个不同阶段组成的。在早期，这是主要是企业基于对法律和法规的服从为主要驱动力的（李，2001；罗森，2001）。这一阶段的特点是守法，是出于对政策或法规为基础的考虑和内部合理的成本为动力的。在这个阶段，企业对环境的态度更主要是来自外部压力，主要是监管压力（哈特，1995；李，2001）。第二阶段是以竞争优势为基础的观点驱动的，他认为，经济与
44、生态和谐以及较好的环境表现会带来高于行业平均水平的利润罗森，2001；拉索、富茨，1997。根据这种观点，拥有积极环保计划的企业会有竞争优势，因为他们较好的信誉会对利益相关者产生积极的共鸣如客户、员工和广大市民（德尚、奥尔特曼，1994；拉索、富茨，1997；斯塔里克、1995）。以环境的可持续性为基础的其他有助于竞争优势的因素是较好的技术和敏锐的政治，这些能影响公共政策（斯塔里克，1995）。第二阶段的基本前提是利益相关者希望企业对环境负责，对这种改进环境表现存在资本溢价。利益相关者的压力以两个不同的形式作用于企业，不仅仅是企业将有效地管理其环境表现，而且他们还将为这个业绩负责（伯里特，20
45、00）。因此，提供企业环境信息披露的企业数不断增加（迪根、戈登，1996）。然而，两个主要问题一直是过去报告的困扰，一个是不同公司的报告没有标准化或同一的格式。因此，在内容方面各个公司有很大的不同（麦克莱恩，2000；怀特，1995）。第二个是，随着企业将其环境报告传递给利益相关群体，这些报告的传递成为一大难题，拷9贝给所有有兴趣的人是不合实际的（琼斯等人，1998）。虽然各组织正在努力解决上述问题，非政府组织和技术进步似乎成为解决这些问题的新型方案。关于标准化和规范化问题已经通过一些协会和非政府组织解决。国际标准化组织的14001准则和欧盟生态管理和审计计划呗认为是一种规范企业环境行为的措施
46、。为传播环境信息提供一致的准则，环境报告创建了一些标准，普遍采用的标准包括公共环境报告倡议，来自于对环境负责的经济联盟的报告，可持续发展的国际商会宪章以及全球报告倡议（巴克霍尔兹，1998；温西格，1998）。对这些准则所有原则的详细解释并不是本文研究的范围。然而，关于企业环境管理方面的建议由很多共同点，这些共同点包括治理行动要有环境政策，要拥有一个环境制度来把不同组织和功能区的环境问题从政策转化为实践，通过不断研究和重新评估来提高环境表现的承诺，要求承包商和供应商都符合环保标准，一个开放的沟通渠道来促进与不同利益相关群体的对话。随着因特网和万维网提供了以智能光便宜、快速、简便的信息传播方式，
47、环境信息的传播问题已经解决（琼斯等人，1998；马肯，1998）。由于互联网用户的增多，企业开始转变他们传统的大众媒体，互联网成为他们首选的沟通渠道（斯麦德等人，2003）。2002年毕马威关于企业可持续发展的调查也表明越来越多的企业使用互联网来传达他们的环境表现。本文的目的是探讨全球200家最大的企业通过他们公司的网站披露环境会计政策和做法。更具体地说，这项研究分析了关于企业环境披露以下七个领域的内容环境规划的考虑，高层管理人员对环境问题的支持，环境结构和组织细节，环境领导活动，环境控制，外部验证或认证的环保计划，企业环境披露的形式。本文以两种独特的方式有助于企业环境报告文献。首先是他的全面
48、性，我们调查了包括34个具体环境参数的七个领域，这些都来源于若干个环境报告准则，包括国际商会和全球永续性报告协会的准则。表I介绍了我们在这项研究中使用的方法参数。二是我们的大样本，那些具有代表性的国际大公司。不像那些有限定样本数量或具体行业和国家的研究，我们有200家来自不同行业不同国家的规模较大的样本。关于环境报告的文献10在过去的十年中，提供环境信息的企业数量不断增长（迪根、戈登，1996；科尔克，2003；毕马威，1999,2002；佩克，2003）。企业环境披露的文献资料显示研究的四大流派，第一种流派处理谁报告了环境信息和该报告时如何造福报告者的（梅克、罗伯茨，1995；涅米宁、尼斯卡
49、宁，2001；拉索、富茨，1997）。换而言之，这里强调的是企业环境报告的信息以及报告和财务表现的关系的特点。下一个研究的流派是关于报告的内容，或什么真正的被报告（格斯里、帕克，1990；尼斯卡拉，1995）。第三种流派，哪个相对较新对于如何处理和报告工具。对于这个问题大多数研究都与在环境报告中互联网的使用有关（琼斯等人，1998）。最后一个流派是关于环境绩效评估，许多寻求利益的投资界会根据环境绩效表现来排名。（例如，道琼斯发展指数，财富环境记分卡，投资者责任研究评级，摩尔哈特等人，2002）。一个必须解决的问题是该公司报告的环境信息和他们有相同做法的企业相比有什么特点。实证研究表明，那些特点比如企业大小，产业类型以及地理位置这三个变量是对环境披露影响最大的因素（梅克、罗伯茨，1995）。企业环境信息披露与企业类型有巨大的关系（迪根、戈登，1996，涅米宁、尼斯卡宁，2001）。和过去相反的是，在工业化国家，自愿披露环境信息的往往是对环境有高影响的行业。而最近的报告显示，环境信息的交流正成为非工业部门和不同地区的共同选择（毕马威，2002）。环境报告率最高的国家依旧是美国、日本、德国、联合国和工业部门，如化学、医药、电子、汽车（毕马威，2002）。同时，公司规模也是环境信息披露的一个重要影响因素。（涅米宁、尼斯卡宁，2001）。从
