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The Evolution of Sustainability-as-Usual

In: Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Raz Godelnik

    (The New School)

Abstract

The chapter explores how sustainability has evolved in business over the last 50 years, reviewing developments in the understanding of the responsibilities and role of companies in society. During this period frameworks such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), stakeholder theory, and creating shared value (CSV) have been developed and implemented, reflecting the changes in companies’ approach toward social and environmental issues. At the same time, while companies have made progress on these issues, they have continued to adhere to the idea that their primary role is to make money for their shareholders. As a result, this chapter suggests, corporate sustainability efforts fail to generate meaningful results. The effort to move companies away from an unsustainable “business-as-usual” mode, by promoting the premise of stakeholder capitalism as a framework that will replace shareholder capitalism, resulted in a new mode I call “sustainability-as-usual,” which is dominated by a “shareholder capitalism 2.0” mental model. The chapter compares business-as-usual and sustainability-as-usual, acknowledging the shortcomings of the latter, including its inability to address climate change effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Raz Godelnik, 2021. "The Evolution of Sustainability-as-Usual," Springer Books, in: Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis, chapter 0, pages 15-39, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-77318-2_2
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-77318-2_2
    as

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