The Institutionalisation of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility in Protected Areas—Policy Interplays and Potential Pitfalls

This chapter investigates from a policy perspective an unusual approach to corporate and societal responsibility, initiated by neoliberal governments in New Zealand in early 2010s. Expectations have been institutionalised that economic agents and communities assume responsibilities for nature protection and infrastructure maintenance in Publicly Protected Areas (PA) managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) through volunteering, donations or corporate sponsorships, while the competent authority transitions towards facilitatory and enabling roles. This has been presented as a 100 years strategy and includes, as target group, all tourism businesses holding concessions to operate in PA. A framework for the study of implementation prospects from behavioural perspectives, referred to as Persuade-Enable-Constrain, is applied for an early assessment of concessionaires’ responses based on interviews. Findings reveal policy interplays not studied before, with significant potential pitfalls in terms of environmental effectiveness. The application of the framework also reveals how factors in the realm of actors’ resources, knowledge base, motivations and their boundary judgements on sustainability are likely to converge to prevent a widespread implementation of this governmental strategy. Key risks to an institutionalised approach to Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR) in PA are identified. Recommendations are articulated for alternative approches to CSR appeals that are more likely to receive target group support, in the context of preserving PA service delivery leadership for governments.