Self regulation: Self-regulation is a voluntary activity where a company or an industry association restrains its actions or commits itself to certain non-market actions (e.g. the disclosure of social and environmental information). The corporation or industry seeks to improve its performance and reputation in a voluntary way, set within a framework whereby commercial or profit making considerations maybe important (see CMAC 2005:12), but not necessarily the main driver. Self-regulation on an industry level is often introduced in order to impede further mandatory government regulations, to maintain social acceptance and reputation, or to prevent competing companies from free-riding (e.g. by not bearing the costs of information management).