The ultimate aim of any modern corporate is growth with profit maximization. Growth is the first and foremost characteristic of nature and its products which include modern societies with all their industrial, agricultural and service sectors and above all the research organizations to cater to the needs of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Governed by the laws of the universe and nature, societies, markets and above all human life are in the constant churn of development in the realm of creativity and innovativeness.

Environmental reporting has caught much of our attention in recent times. It frames the organizations' environment outlay and further acts as an important tool of strategic environmental management. This paper helps in building knowledge regarding environmental reporting and further deals with its different forms and reasons adopted by the corporate sector. It also compares international environmental disclosure with that of the Indian scenario. It discloses how Indian corporate lags behind in implementating such disclosures due to a lack of stringent norms.

Green issues have been a matter of public concern for a long time. Our knowledge regarding the cause and effect of damage has increased, which has, in turn, added to the pressure to change the ways in which we behave. Much of the pressure is aimed towards the corporate sector, which is considered to be the main source of pollution. The corporate sectors are at the core of the `Green Debate'. A study conducted by the "Center for Science and Environment" revealed that the rate of pollution has far over shot the rate of economic growth. GDP has gone up by 2.5 times between 1975 and 1995, whereas industrial pollution has quadrupled.

Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi (1972) had rightly observed, "We must rededicate ourselves to the protection and wise management of our life-sustaining environment." To quote O Maurice Strong (1993), the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, "Every Business that impacts on the environment must accommodate the fact that the environment will have an important impact on its business." Environmental performance of an organization has an influence on its financial condition. Financial information that is connected to such performance should be used to judge, as well as manage the environmental risk.Therefore, accountability of an organization for environmental outlays and disclosure of such costs and obligations should be properly addressed. In 1998, Steve Percy, the Vice President BP America, had remarked, "What gets measured, gets managed. What gets communicated, gets understood". Here lies the justification of environmental reporting.