Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis: A Strategic Design Approach

Description

This book provides a clear, critical, and timely analysis of the state of corporate sustainability within the context of the climate crisis. It offers not only a substantive critique of the current efforts but also clarity about the changes needed and how to implement them.   The book goes beyond the more common debate on shareholder capitalism vs. stakeholder capitalism to explain the shortcomings of the current approach to sustainability in business, which the author describes as sustainability-as-usual. Using strategic design lenses, the author proposes a new model of awakened sustainability, which offers a transformational shift in corporate sustainability to ensure companies fairly and effectively address the climate crisis. The book presents the numerous changes needed in the environment in which companies operate to enable awakened sustainability and how these changes can be realized.   Grounded in the scientific community’s calls for urgent action on climate change, this groundbreaking text provides scholars with an evaluation of current and future trends in corporate sustainability. It connects the dots between the progress made in the last five decades and the opportunities entailed in the work on a regenerative and just vision for companies in this decade and beyond. Preface Contents About the Author List of Figures List of Tables 1 Welcome to Business-As-Usual Everything Has Changed and Nothing Has Changed The Ideas that Have Shaped Business-As-Usual The Mental Model of Business-As-Usual References 2 The Evolution of Sustainability-as-Usual The Rise of Corporate Responsibility When Business Met Sustainability From Sustainability to Sustainability-as-Usual The Business Roundtable’s 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation as an Example of Shareholder Capitalism 2.0 Sustainability-as-Usual vs. Business-as-Usual References 3 Sustainability Reporting: The Black Box Introduction The Evolution of SR The Battle of the Standards The Effectiveness of Sustainability Reporting Looking Under the Hood, or, Why SR Is Not Working Taking a Mechanical Rather Than a Biological Approach to Fixing SR The Missing Context It’s the Mental Model, Stupid References 4 The Rise of the (Mc)Circular Economy The Premise of the CE: Opportunities and Challenges Three Approaches to the CE and Decoupling The Missing Social Dimension The CE as a Symbol of Sustainability-as-Usual The Mc(Circular) Economy? References 5 The Transformation Journey, or: Why Now? Framing Transformation Pre-2020 2020: A Pivotal Year Three Potential Pathways for Transformation When Vulnerabilities and Possibilities Become Clearer References 6 The Vision: Awakened Sustainability Backcasting Developing a Vision A New Mental Model: Sustainability first, NOW Vision’s Content and Context Completing the Puzzle: Awakened Sustainability References 7 What Needs to Be True? Condition #1: Law—A New Corporate Law, Redefining the Company’s Purpose and the Board’s Duties Around Sustainability Condition #2: Social Norms—Defining Any Behavior That Does Not Support a Socially Just and Ecologically Sound Society as Unacceptable Condition #3: Markets—Financial Carrots and Sticks Offered by the Financial Sector to Incentivize Sustainable Activities in Companies Condition #4: Architecture—Establishing Sustainability at the Core of the Organizational Culture References 8 Breaking on Through to the Other Side: How to Make Change Happen? Changing the Mental Model A Theory of Change: Step by Step Connecting the Dots: Transformation Pathways and Awakened Sustainability References Index