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This article addresses corporate environmental responsibility (CER) and aims to present a criminological analysis of it. We studied the opinion of a number of principle actors involved in CER in Europe in order to determine how they perceive it in terms of its definition, aetiology and approaches. For each of these dimensions we relate back to a criminological framework to ascertain how it is positioned in the green criminological debate. We start out by providing information on what corporate environmental responsibility is and how it relates to corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Then we outline the theoretical framework in accordance with the three central themes for the criminological analysis of CER: definition, aetiology and approaches. We also explain the method that was used (semi-structured interviews). Next, we present the results according to the same threefold structure. Finally we discuss these results in a last part, which is divided in two. First, we look at the challenges that the criminological perspective poses for CER in terms of definition, aetiology and approaches. The second part of the discussion turns the question around and wonders how CER could contribute to greening criminology.

Purpose
This paper aims to critically reflect on how societal governance can drive environmental responsibility instead of being used as a support mechanism for other domains in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility.


Design/methodology/approach
There is little discussion in the literature about the individual and social-specific issues and challenges of human and social competition within environmental responsibility. The primary objective of this literature review is to examine how societal governance may decrease environmental responsibility in cross-sector partnerships, especially within the confines of human and social competition.


Findings
Society is competing at differing levels and strategies, thereby creating changing social and environmental contexts for firms that can limit firm competitive advantage and environmental responsibility.


Practical implications
Critically reviewing societal governance apart from economic and environmental domains permits reasonably sound inferences about unmeasured social conditions or situations; thus, permitting greater understanding of not only what is happening and where it is happening but also why it is happening.


Social implications
Society is an underplayed actor than currently portrayed in the literature to drive environmental responsibility within human and social competition in cross-sector partnerships.


Originality/value
This review bridges individual and social aspects of governance and competition within and outside of the firm because society is competing in different contexts that can impact private and public sector environmental responsibility performance.