Responsible corporations, perhaps working in conjunction with government, can band together to devise standards of ethical conduct that will protect people and the planet, without unnecessary costs-at least that's the line among a wide array of beltway players. And with New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman anointed to head up the Environmental Protection Agency, it's going to become even more faddish.
Every corporation regulates itself.
It chooses whether to obey the law, or not. It chooses whether to use clean production technologies, or to pollute. The self-regulation record is clear. Too often, corporations choose to despoil the natural environment, deny care to the sick, smash workers' unions, retaliate against whistleblowers who seek to call attention egregious corporate abuses, endanger consumers, and more. That's why we've compiled this list of the Ten Worst Corporations of the Year.