Everyone agrees that firms should obey the law. But beyond what the law requires-beyond bare compliance with regulations-do firms have additional social responsibilities to commit resources voluntarily to environmental protection? How should we think about firms sacrificing profits in the social interest? Are they permitted to do so, given their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders? Even if permissible, is the practice sustainable, or will the competitive marketplace render such efforts and their impacts transient at best? Furthermore, is the practice, however well intended, an efficient use of social and economic resources? And, as an empirical matter, to what extent do firms already behave this way? Until now, public discussion has generated more heat than light on both the normative and positive questions surrounding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the environmental realm. In Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms, some of the nation,s leading scholars in law, economics, and business examine commonly accepted assumptions at the heart of current debates on corporate social responsibility and provide a foundation for future research and policymaking.

About the ContributorsOverviewThe Four Questions of Corporate Social Responsibility: May They, Can They, Should They, Do They?Bruce L. Hay, Robert N. Stavins, and Richard H. K. VietorPart I: The Legal PerspectiveCorporate Managers Operational Discretion to Sacrifice Corporate Profits in the Public InterestEiner R. ElhaugeComments on Elhauge:Does Greater Managerial Freedom to Sacrifice Profits Lead to Higher Social Welfare?John J. DonohueOn Sacrificing Profits in the Public InterestMark J. RoeSummary of DiscussionPart II: The Economic PerspectiveCorporate Social Responsibility: An Economic and Public Policy PerspectivePaul R. PortneyComments on Portney:Does Corporate Social Responsibility Have to Be Unprofitable?Dennis J. AignerOn Portney's Complaint:Reconceptualizing Corporate Social ResponsibilityDaniel C. EstySummary of DiscussionPart III: The Business PerspectiveEnvironmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms: Perspectives from the Business LiteratureForest L. ReinhardtComments on Reinhardt:Ethics, Risk, and the Environment in Corporate ResponsibilityEric W. OrtsOpportunities for and Limitations of Corporate EnvironmentalismDavid VogelSummary of DiscussionIndex