On Corporate Environmental Responsibility

It profoundly reveals the dialectical relationship between man and the environment that man is part of the nature in Markism. In a long time after man, man and the environment have been in harmonious state. However, since mankind entered the modern human, the harmony between man and nature has been destroyed by mankind with more advanced science and technology and the production of large industrial machines. Many global problems have rapidly occurred such as ecological imbalance, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, the greenhouse effect and so on, which seriously have hindered the development of human survival and caused people to reflect on the way to development and environmental responsibility awareness. The people in the world have realized that we must protect the environment and practice sustainable development to get rid of problems of human beings. Because the corporate is not only the main culprit of damaging the environment but also the important subject of environmental protection, it should commit environmental responsibility. Nowadays, corporate environmental responsibility is not just an economic or social problem, but also a philosophical problem which characterizes the reforming of production mode, the human way of thinking and values. Just because environment is a material basis for survival and development of human beings, the environmental protection thinking is naturally an integral part of human thought. There is lots of environmental philosophical ideas in ancient Chinese culture, modern Western culture and Marxism. As environmental crisis has become more and more serious, they show the prominent value of truth which can be a source of ideas for corporate environmental responsibility.However, according to corporate "economic man" theory, corporate environmental responsibility is not the natural functions of enterprises. But the environmental impact of business expansion has caused many environmental problems. From 60s in the 20th century, corporate environmental responsibility first rose in the advanced countries and gradually developed world trend. Therefore, Scholars have created a social contract theory, externality theory, stakeholder theory providing a solid theoretical support. They have greatly deepened the research of corporate environmental responsibility.Historically, corporate environmental responsibility is associated with corporate social responsibility, but it is not equal to that of corporate social responsibility. Corporate environmental responsibility requires that business not only pursues economic benefits but also social and environmental benefits. Thus, It must take responsibilities for the contemporary and future generations. Corporate environmental responsibility is the most typical of social responsibility.For corporate environmental responsibility in itself is a value issue, the value is the core of corporate environmental responsibility. Corporate environmental responsibility implies corporate values and rational pursuit of value. Enterprise is the subject of environmental responsibility and value practice. In the short term, enterprise will increase its costs for environmental responsibility and reduce efficiency. But in the long term, corporate environmental responsibility is not only favorable to business self-realization and promotion, and conducive to the realization of social justice and ecological value. The value of corporate environmental responsibility is an organic unity which contains the instrumental value and objective value, unifying "morality" and "benefit". Moreover, harmony runs through different values like a red line because it is the ideal object of man. Harmony is also the ultimate goal and value measure of corporate environmental responsibility. Corporate environmental responsibility is an effective way to resolve the people-society-environment contradiction. The value of corporate environmental responsibility is rooted in the inherent nature of "ecological man" which exploits natural resources, protects the environment, maintain ecological balance. The nature of enterprise "economic man" is improved.Corporate environmental responsibility is a practice as well as a concept. Government, society and enterprises not only advocate the concept of corporate environmental responsibility but also actively practice corporate environmental responsibility. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities guides corporate environmental responsibility, fully reflecting fairness and justice of environmental responsibility. At present, China is facing the double pressure of economic development and environmental protection. We must build corporate environmental responsibility mechanism to urge the enterprises to improve economic efficiency and to assume environmental responsibility, because the corporate environmental responsibility mechanism can promote and ensure the practice of corporate environmental responsibility as a requirement of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.