Sydney Environment Institute

Exploring how businesses as social actors have responded to climate change.

Co-presented with the Sydney Business School

Climate change represents one of the greatest social, economic and political challenges facing humanity, requiring new forms of governance and leadership within the private and public realms. As key actors within our globalised economy, the modern business corporation is both a major contributor to our current path of unsustainable greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a key source of innovation necessary in transitioning to a low-emissions future. This research group explores how businesses as social actors have responded to climate change in different ways. This includes not only the development of new and more environmentally sustainable products and services, but also their role in policy debates surrounding energy and carbon emissions regulation. We consider the role of business as corporate citizens and the implications for social governance.

Participants: Andy Hoffman; Christopher Wright; John Dryzek; Stephan Lewandowsky; Greg Bourne; Matthew Bell; Tim Nelson; Emma Herd; Tony Coleman; Maurizio Floris; Christopher Wright; Susan Benn; Ken Tann; Sally Russell.