Private politics and environmental management

We study determinants and effects of two types of private political actions (PPAs) against S&P 500 companies: environmental boycotts and shareholder proxy proposals. We consider effects on the firms׳ adoption of environmental management systems (EMS) and the environmental protocol, ISO 14001. We find that PPAs have a significant impact on firms׳ environmental management decisions and, consistent with Baron (2009), that a company׳s likelihood of experiencing a PPA is higher if it is a “receptive target” that has a reputation for social responsibility.