Corporate Social Responsibility and the Dynamic Role of Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements

Abstract

Business entities of several varieties play an invaluable role in the maintenance, growth, and preservation of the socioeconomic framework, both in the United States and worldwide. Generally, corporations do not assume a duty to act in a socially proactive manner; after all, business entities typically exist to maximize profits for their constituent shareholders. The social obligations of corporations have been shifting, however, as increasingly stringent laws, regulations, and social norms require that entities mitigate the environmental damage they do in order to survive. Much of the public's attention focuses on the regulation of emitting entities especially where that regulation applies to minimizing large-scale contributions to the "greenhouse effect," which occurs when increased quantities of heat-trapping gases enter the atmosphere as a direct byproduct of industrialization. The natural environment is humanity's most valuable resource. Sovereign nations, including the United States, must take steps to preserve the environment's integrity or else risk irreversible damage to global socioeconomic stability and perhaps even the existence of life itself. Statutes and regulations represent some of the best mechanisms available for ensuring such preservation. A delicate balancing act comes into play during the formation of environmental regulations, however, as legislators and regulators must take care to avoid the excessive restriction of economic activity. Economic prosperity is needed to ensure liberty and social mobility for individuals on a global scale, and excessive regulation risks damaging the livelihood of those whose prosperity depends on a healthy global economy. Legislators and regulators are thus charged with protecting the environment from damage while simultaneously avoiding the imposition of excessive regulatory burdens upon emitting entities. The challenge of strengthening environmental protections without imposing excessive burdens upon emitting entities is referred to herein as the "regulatory-economic balance." The totality of the regulatory-economic balance is far too immense to be condensed into a brief Comment, especially after considering the number of moving parts and the expanse of underlying policy implications. However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's regulations on Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements offer a foundational regulatory scheme through which the regulatory-economic balance may be analyzed. 3 The EPA's revision of reporting requirements under Subpart A of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Section 98 may provide an avenue to fortify environmental protections while simultaneously minimizing the burdens placed upon emitting entities relative to those protections.