Time: 1:00 - 2:00pm Venue: FB4.04/4.08, Mile End Campus, E1 4NS
Dr Lutz PreussReader in Corporate Social ResponsibilitySchool of Management, Royal Holloway University of London
Beyond the Business Case: Managing Corporate Sustainability through Paradoxical Thinking
Much writing on corporate sustainability advocates a business case, according to which sustainability initiatives will lead to financial gain for the firm. However given the complexities and multi-level dependencies around sustainability, such win-win opportunities are likely to be rare. Hence there is a need for alternative ways of making sense of sustainability that are based on paradoxical thinking. The presentation will discuss under what conditions we can expect paradoxical thinking to emerge and to become the dominant logic in an organisation to address the tensions in sustainability.