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FEATURE consequences from the organization that issues the standard," she says. "There could also theoretically be consequences as there would be in any other kind of consumer fraud," she says. There's always the possibility that companies will make claims and not follow through with real environmental effort, but "greenwashing" is increasingly hard to get away with, says Esty. "We live in a world . . . with a huge number of self-appoint- ed watchdogs that need only launch comments on a web site to bring down, in some cases, the mightiest of companies," he says. "The number of companies that get caught out because their performance did not live up to expectations is growing every day." Public companies are required, as a condition of listing on an exchange, to disclose to shareholders and potential shareholders anything that will have a material effect on the company's bot- tom line — a disclosure which could include the cleanup costs associated with a major environmental accident. But apart from this, the question of whether capital markets are influenced by the extent to which public companies move toward sustainability remains the subject of considerable dis- cussion, says Saxe. "There are many, including myself, who believe that com- panies who manage their environmental issues well tend to be good managers, generally," she says. "And good management is a significant factor in the longev- ity of a corporation and in its ability to withstand problems. So people who accept this tend to look for companies with good environmental management as good investments." She adds that companies' sustained commitment to good en- vironmental management, and to creating good relationships with the communities they impact, can pay dividends in the long run. Resource companies have learned the hard way to take corpo- rate social responsibility seriously, because doors start closing and money stops flowing when they wreak havoc on the envi- ronment or on the community they're operating in, says Saxe. "If they can go in smoothly with a low footprint and get out without being hated, they've got a better chance of making money where they are, and being accepted the next place they want to go," says Saxe. The International Organization for Standardization (www. iso.org) is currently working on a CSR standard she says. "And they are being pushed to do so by the big resource com- panies around the world," says Saxe. "They want to be able to say, 'We are doing a good enough job. Here's the rule and we are following it.'"IH Law Specialistson Your Team! We help you help your clients. Call us. Get Our Environmental Environmental Specialists*on Your Team! Our team of environmental lawyers includes 5 Environmental Law Specialists* www.willmsshier.com * Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada Juli Abouchar 416 862 4836 Doug Petrie 416 862 4835 John Willms 416 862 4821 Donna Shier 416 862 4822 Marc McAree 416 862 4820 ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY & RESOURCES LAW 28 FEBRU AR Y 2008 C ANADIAN Lawyer INHOUSE Canadian Lawyer #MS07-25 – 7" x 4-7/8"