History of Sustainability Regulation in US vs. Europe

  Sustainable business practices are an emerging trend in the global marketplace. Business both in the U.S. and abroad are finding ways to practice sustainability while focusing on the three P’s: people, planet and profit. A review of corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature presents a theoretical framework for conducting CSR research. This includes reactive and proactive predictors of CSR actions and policies and their influence on internal and external stakeholders. Reactive predictors include regulatory, compliance, certification and industry standards, while proactive predictors may include pressure or expectations from the public, consumers or interest groups for social or environmental reasons. Students will compare reactive vs. proactive actions for U.S. vs European companies. European countries operate under specific regulatory requirements for sustainability reporting in comparison to U.S. corporations. Even so, a majority of large cap U.S. businesses appear to issue some version of a sustainability report or CSR information. This project will compare U.S. and European countries of similar size and industry and determine 1- what regulatory environment is present 2- what type of CSR reporting is being used and 3- what types of indicators (proactive or reactive) may be driving sustainable practices.