Standard or Smokescreen? Implementation of a Voluntary Environmental Code

Abstract

According to classical free market doctrine, no more should be expected of a business, even a large business, than that it operate within the law, and the law should protect the autonomy and rationality of the enterprise. After all, it is argued, a firm is the very model of instrumental rationality. However, the social costs of moral indifference—distorted priorities, defrauded consumers, degraded environments, deformed babies—have created an irrepressible demand for enhanced accountability, more external regulation, and a stronger sense of social responsibility.