Abstract

In recent years, demands from external stakeholders have created pressures for companies to adopt new environmental management practices. Some industries have developed their own non-regulatory codes of environment, health, and safety (EHS) practice. Have these codes generated substantive change in members' actions or do they simply reinforce existing perceptions and practices? This article examines the response of sixteen chemical companies to the first industry-generated EHS code, Responsible Care. In some cases, companies have adopted uniform practices, while in other cases significant variation persists. The adoption and implementation by companies of non-regulatory environmental codes is a poor indicator that any particular standard practices will be followed.