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Competing with ‘soft’ issues – from managing the environment to sustainable business strategies

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  • Peter Dobers
  • Rolf Wolff

Abstract

In the last 15 years, important elements to achieve sustainability have been governmental regulation, increasing consumer awareness, implementation of end‐of‐pipe technologies in industry and the development of ‘green’ products. Although many improvements have followed since, some would say that current dominating demands regarding shareholder value (SHV) and claims regarding sustainability are two global discourses in conflict. We argue that the financial sector can influence eco‐efficiency and other environmental improvements. The role of the financial sector, although strategically important, is generally neglected in discourses on sustainability. In this article, we illustrate that financial institutions are crucial facilitators for sustainability. Financial actors' demands regarding business' transparency about management systems and objectives for sustainability will play an important role in the near future. One current example for this emerging trend is the recently introduced Dow Jones Sustainable Group Index. Narrowing in on this special issue on ‘Contemporary Nordic research on corporate environmental management’ we have gone through the 25 articles by Nordic authors previously published in Business Strategy and the Environment (BSE). We have identified three theme clusters, which support the observation that Nordic research in corporate environmental management, as published and illustrated in BSE has developed issues from ‘hard’ such as pollution, environmental technology and compliance, to ‘soft’ issues, such as research on the development and implementation of corporate environmental management and alternative projects for environmental improvements. This special issue presents a selection of papers discussed at the Fifth Workshop of the Nordic Business Environmental Management Network in Gothenburg, Sweden, in January 1999. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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  • Peter Dobers & Rolf Wolff, 2000. "Competing with ‘soft’ issues – from managing the environment to sustainable business strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 143-150, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:9:y:2000:i:3:p:143-150
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0836(200005/06)9:33.0.CO;2-C
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    1. Harry Bremmers & Onno Omta & Ron Kemp & Derk‐Jan Haverkamp, 2007. "Do stakeholder groups influence environmental management system development in the Dutch agri‐food sector?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 214-231, March.
    2. Hilke Elke Jacke Bos‐Brouwers, 2010. "Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs: Evidence of themes and activities in practice," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(7), pages 417-435, November.
    3. Cinthia Leonora Murillo‐Avalos & Mitzi Cubilla‐Montilla & Miguel Ángel Celestino Sánchez & Purificación Vicente‐Galindo, 2021. "What environmental social responsibility practices do large companies manage for sustainable development?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 153-168, January.
    4. Cerin, Pontus & Dobers, Peter, 2001. "What does the performance of the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index tell us?," Sustainable Investment and Corporate Governance Working Papers 2001/1, Sustainable Investment Research Platform.
    5. Wagner, Marcus, 2008. "Empirical influence of environmental management on innovation: Evidence from Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 392-402, June.
    6. Mubariz Mammadli, 2022. "Environmentally Responsible Business Approaches in Azerbaijan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.
    7. Sukhbir Sandhu & Lucie K. Ozanne & Clive Smallman & Ross Cullen, 2010. "Consumer driven corporate environmentalism: Fact or fiction?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(6), pages 356-366, September.
    8. Margaret Brunton & Gabriel Eweje & Nazim Taskin, 2017. "Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility to Internal Stakeholders: Walking the Walk or Just Talking the Talk?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 31-48, January.
    9. Elisabeth Schylander & André Martinuzzi, 2007. "ISO 14001 – experiences, effects and future challenges: a national study in Austria," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(2), pages 133-147, February.
    10. Jan Vespermann & Andreas Wittmer, 2011. "Financial, ecological and managerial impacts of emission trading schemes: the case of Lufthansa," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 174-191, March.
    11. Bremmers, Harry J. & Omta, S.W.F. (Onno) & Haverkamp, Derk-Jan, 2004. "Explaining Environmental Management System Development: A Stakeholder Approach," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 7(4), pages 1-15.
    12. Maria Giovanna Confetto & Maddalena Della Volpe & Claudia Covucci, 2018. "Dual marketers and sustainability communication. Empirical evidence from corporate websites," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(3), pages 41-68.

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