Overview

This critical book presents ways to improve the impact of corporate sustainability programs on the ecological and social systems that we rely upon. Integrating three decades of multidisciplinary empirical and conceptual research undertaken by three leading management scholars in three countries, this book addresses the current state of, and the prospects for, business to help create a truly sustainable society. Providing a balanced perspective, Salvaging Corporate Sustainability expertly charts the path from the promises of corporate sustainability, to where it has gone wrong, and on to where it needs to go from here. The authors conclude by outlining a research agenda for finding a working balance between free market and formal governance that can yield substantive corporate sustainability programs. Overall, this book will challenge readers to take a broader view of how we use the planet’s limited resources and the ways in which corporations can work with their stakeholders and the government to address our global sustainability challenges. Offering new directions for uncovering better ways to increase sustainability through business, this book will be core reading for academics and students of business leadership, corporate social responsibility, corporate sustainability, and strategic management. It will also be useful for practitioners who oversee and implement sustainability practices, helping them to conceptualize how to approach their jobs.

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9781800378933

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Reviews

'For over 30 years a plethora of scholars and practitioners of sustainability - including myself - turned to the firm, and their collaborative initiatives with stakeholders, in the hopes of offering efficient and effective ways to address the myriad of environmental challenges facing the planet. As this important tome by three leading corporate sustainability scholars point out - the hopes that building the business case for sustainability would lead to win win outcomes did not come to pass: from an array of measures from the climate crisis to mass species extinctions - the world is now much worse off than it was when we collectively turned to corporate sustainability governance for solutions. As a corrective, Barnett, Henriques and Husted make a compelling, and ironic call for bringing government back in . What makes their argument refreshing, and important, is that this doesn't mean jettisoning corporations as playing an important role in advancing sustainability - but rather the business case for doing so. The result is a compelling and important argument for those seeking to draw on government, companies and society as a means to ameliorate, rather than exacerbate, some of the world's most pressing ecological challenges. A profoundly important book.' -- Benjamin William Cashore, National University of Singapore 'This book casts a much needed critical eye on the mantra of the win-win scenario, the idea that business can do well economically by doing good for society and the environment. The reality is far more complex and, as the authors rightly point out, The self-interested actions of independent firms operating in deregulated global markets will not add up to a sustainable world. What is needed is the fresh and sober look at business sustainability that this book provides; its promises, premises, realities and possibilities. Before business and the market can play its proper role in solving our sustainability challenges, this book makes the case that we need to rethink the proper role of government in resetting the structures of the market. This book is a welcome addition to the ongoing discussion on this very important topic, written by three accomplished scholars in this topic.' -- Andrew Hoffman, University of Michigan, USA and author of Management as a Calling: Leading Business, Serving Society

‘For over 30 years a plethora of scholars and practitioners of sustainability – including myself – turned to the firm, and their collaborative initiatives with stakeholders, in the hopes of offering efficient and effective ways to address the myriad of environmental challenges facing the planet. As this important tome by three leading corporate sustainability scholars point out – the hopes that building the “business case” for sustainability would lead to “win win” outcomes did not come to pass: from an array of measures from the climate crisis to mass species extinctions – the world is now much worse off than it was when we collectively turned to corporate sustainability governance for solutions. As a corrective, Barnett, Henriques and Husted make a compelling, and ironic call for “bringing government back in”. What makes their argument refreshing, and important, is that this doesn’t mean jettisoning corporations as playing an important role in advancing sustainability – but rather the “business case” for doing so. The result is a compelling and important argument for those seeking to draw on government, companies and society as a means to ameliorate, rather than exacerbate, some of the world’s most pressing ecological challenges. A profoundly important book.’ -- Benjamin William Cashore, National University of Singapore ‘This book casts a much needed critical eye on the mantra of the win–win scenario, the idea that business can do well economically by doing good for society and the environment. The reality is far more complex and, as the authors rightly point out, “The self-interested actions of independent firms operating in deregulated global markets will not add up to a sustainable world.” What is needed is the fresh and sober look at business sustainability that this book provides; its promises, premises, realities and possibilities. Before business and the market can play its proper role in solving our sustainability challenges, this book makes the case that we need to rethink the proper role of government in resetting the structures of the market. This book is a welcome addition to the ongoing discussion on this very important topic, written by three accomplished scholars in this topic.’ -- Andrew Hoffman, University of Michigan, USA and author of “Management as a Calling: Leading Business, Serving Society”

'This book casts a much needed critical eye on the mantra of the win-win scenario, the idea that business can do well economically by doing good for society and the environment. The reality is far more complex and, as the authors rightly point out, The self-interested actions of independent firms operating in deregulated global markets will not add up to a sustainable world. What is needed is the fresh and sober look at business sustainability that this book provides; its promises, premises, realities and possibilities. Before business and the market can play its proper role in solving our sustainability challenges, this book makes the case that we need to rethink the proper role of government in resetting the structures of the market. This book is a welcome addition to the ongoing discussion on this very important topic, written by three accomplished scholars in this topic.' - Andrew Hoffman, University of Michigan, USA and author of Management as a Calling: Leading Business, Serving Society

Author Information

Michael L. Barnett, Professor of Management, Department of Management and Global Business, Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University, US, Irene Henriques, Professor of Sustainability and Economics, Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada and Bryan W.Husted, Professor of Management, EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico

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