The virtue of corporate carbon management. (20th December 2011)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Busch, Timo; Wolfensberger, Christoph
• Is Part Of: International journal of sustainable strategic management. Volume 3:Number 2(2011)
• Page Start: 142
• Page End: 157
• Publication Date: 2011-12-20
• Subjects: climate change -- life-cycle wide emissions -- emission compensation -- competitive advantage; Organizational effectiveness -- Periodicals; Organizational effectiveness -- Strategic planning -- Periodicals; Organizational change -- Strategic planning -- Periodicals; Organization -- Sustainable development -- Periodicals; 658.401205
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1753-3600

Abstract

In management literature, many studies claim that there is a business case for companies to address climate change through adequate carbon management strategies. We argue that corporate carbon management is not limited to mitigation efforts internally but also comprises of supply chain optimisations, product-related improvements, and compensation activities. Taking a clear business standpoint, we ask whether such carbon management efforts in a life-cycle wide context are also relevant for corporate competitiveness. Drawing on the industrial organisation (IO) literature, we derive a framework of eight distinct carbon management strategies. For each strategy we elaborate on its potential contribution to generating a competitive advantage and illustrate this with empirical examples of companies already pursuing such strategies.