Article by Miriam A. Cherry and Judd F. Sneirson
The explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon and subsequent oil spill stand as an indictment not just of our national energy priorities and environmental law enforcement; they equally represent a failure of Anglo-American corporate law and what passes for corporate social responsibility in business today. Using BP and the disaster as a compelling case study, this Article examines green marketing and corporate governance and identifies elements of each that encourage firms to engage only superficially in corporate social responsibility yet trumpet those efforts to eager consumers and investors. This Article then proposes reforms and protections designed to increase corporate social responsibility, root out greenwashing, and recognize liability for corporate social responsibility frauds on consumers and investors. One of these protections derives from the newly enacted Dodd-Frank Act, whose Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection could play a leading role in policing fraudulent claims of corporate social responsibility.
About the Author
Miriam A. Cherry. Professor; Co-Director, William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law, William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law, Associate Dean for Research and Engagement, St. Louis University Law School; Associate Professor of Law, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law; B.A. 1996, Dartmouth College; J.D. 1999, Harvard Law School.
Judd F. Sneirson. Visiting Professor, Hofstra University School of Law; B.A. 1992, Williams College; J.D. 1996, University of Pennsylvania.
Citation
85 Tul. L. Rev. 983 (2011)