Washington, Aug 20 - A business with a green-oriented boss is more likely to 'over-comply' with environmental regulations if it believes in protecting the environment and that it makes financial sense in the long term.

The study examined why some firms violate environmental regulatory standards while others exceed them. It used data from a survey of 689 businesses in Oregon.

JunJie Wu, professor of economics at Oregon State University (OSU), who authored the study, said the results could be useful to policy makers when developing strategies to reduce environmental violations and encourage firms to do more than regulations require.

'The results suggest that a narrow strategy to promote environmental over-compliance may not fare well,' Wu said.

'For example, offering technical and financial assistance to reduce compliance costs may be offset if these policies reduce competitive pressures.