Using the method of first principles and guided by the unpublished dissertation research of Vipin Gupta (1998) at the Wharton School, we ontologically derive the dynamic conditionality for environmental performance management for a firm. Based on the insights from the dynamic conditionality comprising of seven algebraic relationships, and using a 2015 survey sample of Chinese small and medium enterprises, we empirically investigate and refute Friedman’s doctrine that profit maximization motive constitutes the appropriate heuristic for performance management of corporate social responsibility factors, such as environmental performance or what we term as green programming. We derive and present thirteen additional algebraic relationships to clarify the managerial and scholarly implications of our work.