Environmental Legislation in Egypt & the Demand for Environmental Auditing: Factor Analysis Approach

Abstract

After enacting the environmental law no. 4 of 1994 in Egypt, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) has imposed penalties and big fines on offending companies. The implications of environmental issues on business lead to the emergence of a number of arguments concerning the demand for environmental auditing. The paper investigates environmental issues in 158 of Egyptian companies after more than 10 years from issuing the environmental law no. 4 of 1994. The aim of the study is to determine the impact of Egyptian law no. 4 of 1994 on the demand of environmental auditing. The results of empirical study indicate that environmental issues have a strong impact on business and their importance is increasing in Egypt. A number of companies provided examples of legitimation, such as a written environmental policy statement, environmental management systems and environmental audits carried out to comply with regulations. Environmental awareness within companies in Egypt still needs to be raised. The demand for environmental auditing in Egypt is limited