After Greenwashing: Symbolic Corporate Environmentalism and SocietyBusinesses promote their environmental awareness through green buildings, eco-labels, sustainability reports, industry pledges and clean technologies. When are these symbols wasteful corporate spin, and when do they signal authentic environmental improvements? Based on twenty years of research, three rich case studies, a strong theoretical model and a range of practical applications, this book provides the first systematic analysis of the drivers and consequences of symbolic corporate environmentalism. It addresses the indirect cost of companies' symbolic actions and develops a new concept of the 'social energy penalty' - the cost to society when powerful corporate actors limit the social conversation on environmental problems and their solutions. This thoughtful book develops a set of tools for researchers, regulators and managers to separate useful environmental information from empty corporate spin, and will appeal to researchers and students of corporate responsibility, corporate environmental strategy and sustainable business, as well as environmental practitioners. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
After greenwashing | 15 |
Figures | 18 |
Tables | 21 |
Perspectives on symbolic corporate environmentalism | 39 |
Drivers and consequences of symbolic corporate | 55 |
Symbolic gaps in environmental strategies | 109 |
Pollution control technology and | 140 |
Other editions - View all
After Greenwashing: Symbolic Corporate Environmentalism and Society Frances Bowen Limited preview - 2014 |
After Greenwashing: Symbolic Corporate Environmentalism and Society Frances Bowen No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
activities actors Alstom analysis audience-seeking bolic BREEAM broader carbon accounting carbon neutrality CCS demonstration projects CCS projects Chapter climate change companies context conventional view corporate envi costs and benefits costs of symbolic credentials credibility intervals criteria critical view cultural symbols deadweight loss decoupling deliberate Delmas develop disclosure discourse dominant eco-labels economic emphasises empirical Endesa environmental impacts environmental improvements environmental issues environmental performance environmental strategies estimate evaluations example field firm-level firm’s green building greenwashing high-status HSBC implementation initiatives investment in green large firms LEED legitimacy managers measurement ment merely symbolic monitoring natural environment network externalities NGOs organisational pollution control positive potential practices produce reputation ronmental shared meanings social benefit curve social costs social energy penalty stakeholders standards status substantive environmental substantive green solutions substantive performance symbolic and substantive symbolic capital symbolic corporate environmentalism symbolic gaps symbolic green solutions symbolic performance tion voluntary
Bibliographic information
| Title | After Greenwashing: Symbolic Corporate Environmentalism and Society Organizations and the Natural Environment |
| Author | Frances Bowen |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2014 |
| ISBN | 1107034825, 9781107034822 |
| Length | 295 pages |
| Subjects | › Business & Economics / Business Ethics Business & Economics / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |