Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
incentives, there is still some room for discretionary preference. For
example, mining companies are often willing to invest further in explora-
tion of deposits in countries that have low labor costs while having a
reasonable measure of political stability. The challenge for environmental
justice advocates is to exert pressure on companies to improve compli-
ance while not demonizing the companies to the extent that they pull
out altogether from operating in such desperately poor locations. Indeed,
mining companies are still more likely to tolerate risk than other sectors
such as manufacturing and fi nance. Therefore, to move toward a common
goal of development, a strategy is needed to foster improved environ-
mental and social performance while not marginalizing the agents of
multinational investment.
Conclusion: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Justice
Critiques of globalization have often identifi ed multilateral corporation
as agents of environmental injustice because of their ravenous appetite
for expedient profi ts that may preclude social and environmental
concerns. Companies appear to follow paths of least resistance in terms
of regulation because any compliance costs are believed to erode profi t-
ability. However, this view of corporate behavior is increasingly question-
able because of a growing trend by which companies are identifying
asymmetries in regulations as a threat rather than an opportunity. Given
the range of corporate actors in the global arena, a race to the bottom
may be workable for some corporations that do not have shareholder
accountability or threats of litigation. For a growing cadre of companies,
globalization has also created a network of accountability that they are
unable to easily escape. Hence they feel that regulations may actually
level the playing fi eld and allow for more equitable competition.
However, in many parts of the developing world such competitive
motivation is lacking across various sectors. This results in development
disparities within countries that might be economically diversifi ed but
still show some of the symptoms of environmental injustice across each
sector. Although extractive industries have often been singled out as
being the most monopolistic and exploitative, other sectors may also
take advantage of an absence of regulatory enforcement in the same way
(Ali and O'Faircheallaigh 2007). As observed in the case of Fiji, multi-
national companies in mining and bottled water can exhibit similar
symptoms of environmental injustice. Globalization may be held respon-
sible for allowing foreign companies easier access to such developing
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