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The corporate challenges of sustainable development
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2002
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Environmental PerformanceEngineeringSustainability PerformanceSustainable DevelopmentEducationSustainable InnovationEnvironmental PolicyManagementCorporate ResponsesEnvironmental ManagementFew U.s. FirmsCorporate Social ResponsibilitySustainable GoalCorporate SustainabilityStrategic ManagementExecutive OverviewSustainable SystemsGlobal SustainabilitySustainable PracticeBusinessBusiness SustainabilitySustainabilityIso 14001Corporate Challenges
Evidence of mounting environmental, social‑equity, and economic threats shows that few U.S. firms have embraced sustainable development, a societal issue to which most firms are unsure how to respond. The study argues that sustainable development must be institutionalized through regulations, norms, and mindsets, and that translating its principles into business practices, developing better measures, and engaging employees will help firms adopt it organization‑wide. The authors analyze ISO 14001 adoption as a case study, showing how translating sustainable‑development principles into business practices, better measurement, and employee empowerment can influence firm uptake.
Executive Overview While evidence pointing to environmental, social-equity, and economic threats mounts, few U.S. firms have embraced the principles of sustainable development. This reticence is illustrated through an analysis of the adoption of ISO 14001, an international environmental-management system intended to advance the sustainable-development agenda in organizations. Interviewed managers said they resisted the standard because the benefits of ISO 14001 did not outweigh the costs and because in-house environmental systems served the same purpose. While part of this reticence can be attributed to the standard itself, it is also partly due to the nature of the issue of sustainable development. It is a societal issue to which most firms do not know how to respond. To bridge this divide, sustainable development must become more institutionalized in the regulations, norms, and mindsets of Americans. By translating the general principles of sustainable development into business practices, by developing better measures of sustainable development, and by empowering and engaging employees, firms are more likely to embrace sustainable development so that it permeates all organizational activities.