Corporations are about the bottom line. That part is pretty simple.

That being said, most of the actual human beings working for corporations love it when they find ways to make their work more environmentally friendly. We do it all the time. Unfortunately, some of these ideas, while worthwhile, conflict with the bottom line and have to be shelved. Sometimes, green ideas are cost effective, however, and sometimes the "market buzz" can be used to justify a project with only minor net costs without considering such factors. The market buzz is a GOOD thing, flipping a few projects from one side of the line to the other.

That being said, most actual human beings working the corporations are good people and don't want to pollute or harm the environment. Corporations, as opposed to individuals, are actually quite predictable. If we as a society do not want them to pollute, simply set the laws such that it is impossible to do so. I work for a major chemical company that is, last time I checked, the biggest energy user in my state. Would we like to change that? YES! Can we? No, because our competitors would beat us if we did, not because we don't know how.

If, however, the government was to give both us and our competition the incentive to be more efficient, we both would, and the battle for customers would rage on without a glitch. Frankly, the top companies would relish the change in the rules, as we believe we are better able to adapt to the new situation.

It's quite telling that I work for a major energy-hogging chemical firm in a fairly conservative area, yet most people at work support the ideas of reducing energy use, renewables, etc quite strongly.