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04 Feb 2019Working Paper Summaries

Understanding and Overcoming Roadblocks to Environmental Sustainability. Past Roads and Future Prospects

by Ann-Kristin Bergquist, Shawn A. Cole, John Ehrenfeld, Andrew A. King, and Auden Schendler

At a summer 2018 Harvard Business School conference, historians, scholars, and business professionals debated barriers and opportunities for business and environmental sustainability. Although ideas of a future path differed, many participants said sustainability objectives based on voluntary firm action have become diffuse, making progress difficult.

Author Abstract

This working paper examines key barriers to business sustainability discussed at a multidisciplinary conference held at the Harvard Business School in 2018. Drawing on perspectives from both the historical and business literatures, speakers debated the historical success and future opportunities for voluntary business actions to advance sustainability. Roadblocks include misaligned incentives, missing institutions, inertia of economic systems, and the concept of sustainability itself. It appears that overcoming these roadblocks will require systematic interventions and alternative normative concepts.