The sustainability route to corporate legitimacy

The world’s resources, especially nonrenewable ones, are depleting exponentially due to accelerated consumption. Environmental degradation, obesity, pollution, human rights violations, and poverty are often caused or exacerbated by companies themselves. Pushback from communities worldwide due to threats to ecosystems, environments, economies, and indeed the planet, has made it essential for individuals and groups to fundamentally change the way they function. Sustainability has become a necessary transformation for creating shared value, and companies are discovering that it is indeed possible to “do well by doing good”. However, not all companies have the ability and/or inclination to engage in sustainability initiatives, and the ones that do are all across the spectrum in terms of the efficacy and appropriateness of their programs. Indeed, many stakeholders question the depth and genuineness of the efforts which then raises doubts about the value of increasing investments in sustainability programs if companies’ efforts fail to be perceived as legitimate. This paper takes a stakeholder approach toward sustainability and introduces the concept of legitimacy as a measure of the degree to which companies are, in fact, dedicated to sustainability.