In this paper we analyse the development of corporate environmental management systems through the core elements of the emerging evolutionary theory of the firm. The environmental management process means a process by which organizations change their structures and cultures as a result of an interlinked effort of individual learning and organizational transformation. We propose that effective environmental management capacities derive primarily from the adaptation of three constitutive mechanisms of firms: the coordination mechanisms, the cognitive mechanisms and the incentive mechanisms. Our theoretical results are supported by case studies in 12 industrial firms localized in France (Alsace) and in Germany (Baden-Wurtemberg).