Methods

What Is the Issue?

In the 1980s, innovative research recommended that ecological measures can often serve the economic interests of companies through cost-savings from more efficient use of resources, new product opportunities and better risk management. Businesses, it was consequently anticipated, would take a lead in the conversion to a sustainable economy. Over the past decade, there has been significant change: progressive companies are more pro-active; environmental management systems are wide-spread in industry; environmental reporting is improving and many firms have reduced pollution levels below those required by regulation.

Nonetheless, the greening of industry is not worldwide and is a much more intricate process than many have anticipated. Industrial potential for ecological modernization is seldom exploited fully and many companies do not abide by regulations. The majority of firms still have a hasty attitude towards the environment. Environmental initiatives, be they national or international, often face strong and sometimes undo-operative opposition from business lobby groups. While this is the case, numerous discussions in regards to environment, at some point or at some level evolve in to discussions regarding economics Ð'- how much environmental protection or restoration will cost and how such cost will affect the company. Accordingly the clash between environmental point of view and economic realities continues to haunt business owners and policy makers alike. Consequently the research question- do economic incentives pressure businesses to go green and follow more environmentally sustainable policies and innovative eco-friendly business tactics?

The question has both theoretical and practical impact, as it can help us to understand what drives businesses to develop eco friendly programs and business solutions. The environmental decisions made by those businesses have common factors and understanding those factors can prevent future environmental disasters. If these attitudes and factors can be identified, it may be possible to limit or remove the precursors to them and thus reduce the number of businesses that choose to seek hostile environmental practices. Consequently, I hypothesize that: The greater economic incentives for businesses to go green, the higher the number of eco-friendly businesses will surface. The dependent variable here is the number of eco-friendly businesses and the independent variable is economic incentives for businesses to go green.

While there are many possible factors involved in decision-making process by businesses, especially for a decision to go- green or environmentally responsible, I seek the "truest cause" by approaching this question from an economic point of view. Francis Fukuyama in his introduction to "The end of History" predicts the triumph of the Western idea, that will lead to primacy of economic calculations in the decision-making process "The struggle for recognition, the willingness to risk one's life for a purely abstract goal, the worldwide ideological struggle that called forth daring, courage, imagination, and idealism, will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environment concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands." (F. Fukuyama in the R. Betts book, p.16). Although, this statement is cynically pragmatic, I think this is a veracity of the modern international agenda.

Literature Review

The theoretical and practical aspects of environmental