American CEOs often survive environmental controversies unscathed

A review of 10,000 lawsuits in the US shows top executives often don't suffer damage to their reputation when their companies are embroiled in an environmental disaster - in fact, some go on to thrive

Volkswagen announced on Wednesday that its top US boss, Michael Horn, would be leaving the company "effective immediately", six months after the car giant's global CEO resigned as the emissions cheating scandal became public. But a CEO losing his or her job following an environmental controversy is more the exception than the rule, according to a new study.

The report, by researchers at Australia's University of Adelaide, found that the heads of companies embroiled in environmental lawsuits tend to suffer little to no damage to their reputation. This is in contrast to CEOs of companies accused of financial fraud, who, according to prior research, are more likely to lose their jobs and have difficulty finding new employment.