The 10 worst corporations of 2000 By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman Self-regulation is all the rage in Washington, D.C. these days. 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 that s the line among a wide array of beltway players. And with 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 permit its employees to unionize, or to fight organizing efforts, whether to bargain fairly with unions, or to try to bust them. 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.