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| Environmental problems are causing increasing concern worldwide. With the rapid internationalization of economic activities in the 1980s, the impact on the environment exceeded the Earth's regenerative capacities, and worldwide environmental issues such as global warming, ozone depletion, and acid rain began to become evident. Environmental problems manifest themselves at the regional level as well, with issues related to garbage disposal, industrial waste, soil and water pollution, and leakage of hazardous substances into the environment. |
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| To address these problems, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (popularly known as the "Earth Summit ") was held in Brazil in 1992, with participating countries adopting the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, based on the principle of "sustainable development. " Later, at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3) in 1997, participants agreed upon the "Kyoto Protocol, " which set national greenhouse-gas reduction targets designed to stem global warming. As for regional environmental problems involving industrial waste and hazardous substances, various central and local governments are now tightening their environment-related regulations. |
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In light of the growing attention to these issues, companies are recognizing that they must make a commitment to environmental protection. Many companies have for some time been directing efforts toward environmental protection, implementing pollution control and energy saving measures, out of concern both for risk management and corporate societal contribution. However, environment-related regulations are growing more strict, and companies are now required to enact even more rigorous measures to ensure compliance and to meet the demands of corporate social responsibility (CSR) |
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Compliance refers to observation of a given law or rule and conduct in accordance with the stipulated requirements. In a broad sense, compliance is sometimes used to refer to appropriate conduct in terms of corporate ethics or social norms. With the spate of corporate scandals in which companies lost credibility with the public due to illegal or unethical acts, the importance of compliance in this respect has become increasingly clear. |
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is based on the notion that in the process of making profits, companies must comply with all of the relevant laws, regulations, and ethical requirements. Further, companies bear a certain responsibility to contribute to society and to environmental protection, applying a portion of profits to the public benefit, so that corporate and societal progress can advance together. In the West, a company's approach to CSR has rapidly become a popular criterion in the assessment of its value as an investment target. |
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