Assessing Ecological Modernization in China: Stakeholder Demands and Corporate Environmental Management Practices in Guangdong Province

This paper compares the key arguments of ecological modernization theory (EMT) with the reality of recent environmental reform in China. Based on data gathered from a survey and in-depth interviews with executives from Hong Kong-based enterprises operating in Guangdong province, we examine the chang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The China quarterly (London) 2013-03, Vol.213 (213), p.101-129
Main Authors: Yee, Wai-Hang, Lo, Carlos Wing-Hung, Tang, Shui-Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business
Business community
Capitalism
China
Civil Society
Companies
Consumers
Ecology
Economic development
Economic growth
Economics
Enterprises
Environment and politics
Environmental management
Environmental policy
Environmental protection
Europe
Government
Governmental reform
Interaction
Local government
Manufacturing
Markets
Modernization
Peoples Republic of China
Policy making
Political institutions
Politics
Reform
Reforms
Resource Management
Social Institutions
Stakeholder
Stakeholders
State role
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Summary:This paper compares the key arguments of ecological modernization theory (EMT) with the reality of recent environmental reform in China. Based on data gathered from a survey and in-depth interviews with executives from Hong Kong-based enterprises operating in Guangdong province, we examine the changing roles of government, market, and civil society actors in the reform process, focusing on various types of pressures these actors have exerted on business enterprises. Compatible with Mol's (2006) conjectures, ecological concerns have gradually gained a foothold in existing political, economic, and to a lesser extent, social institutions. Yet, the relevant actors and their patterns of interactions differ from what EMT generalizes from Western European experiences. Specifically, local governments are assuming a more formalized relationship with firms in regulatory enforcement. Among market actors, organizational buyers along the supply chain have exerted more noticeable pressures on manufacturing firms than industrial associations and individual consumers. Civil society, while remaining less of an institutionalized actor in the environmental policy process, appears to pose a perceptible threat to at least some firms.
ISSN:0305-7410
1468-2648
DOI:10.1017/S0305741012001543