UK business and environmental strategy: a survey and analysis of east midlands firms' approaches to environmental audit

Uses a questionnaire survey of firms in the East Midlands region of England to examine business attitudes towards environmental protection and the most effective means of motivating firms to be more environmentally responsible; indicates that over one-third of the 129 responding firms use environmental audits (though on further examination this is revealed to be only 12%). Finds that larger firms tend to use environmental audits/reviews, with the energy sector the most prominent; suggests that the smaller the firm, the lower the perception of the effects of environmental legislation, and that the greatest motivation for conducting audits/reviews comes from a single manager's initiative (far more so than legal requirement). Identifies why firms do not use reviews and what the main benefits of doing so are, e.g. improved image; implies that legislation does not promote the benefits to businesses and that advisory action by public agencies may be more appropriate