Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations

'This book makes clear that climate change is not a 'problem' for which there can be a 'solution'. It requires a re-examination of the core structures of our society, and in particular our economy. Using solid research and analysis, Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg untangle the complex and multiple ways that corporations are shaping humanity's response to the climate crisis, ways that are unfortunately inadequate to the challenge at hand. In this engaging text, we are challenged to envision alternative futures that will, indeed they must, challenge how we think, who we are, and how we relate to each other and to the natural world around us.' Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor and Director of the Erb Institute for Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan

'It's possible that there's no greater example of corporate irresponsibility than climate change - I mean, these companies melted the Arctic, and then rushed to drill in the open water. Thank heaven the authors of this book are beginning the necessary work of calling them to account. If we can break their power then we have a fighting chance against global warming; if not, the ruined earth will be their legacy.' Bill McKibben, author of Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

'With the phenomenon of human-caused climate change, we have arrived at a point in history where technological progress is now threatening, rather than facilitating, societal welfare. How is it that we have arrived at this point? And what can we do to right the ship? Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg address these and other key questions in the very readable, crisp and well-researched book Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-Destruction. I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to learn more not only about how corporations have shaped our response to climate change but also re-imagining alternatives to our current path.' Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University and author of The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars

'In these crucial years to save the global climate, Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg have written an important book, boldly explaining the role of big business in global warming. By going inside the minds and boardrooms of big corporations, the authors give us extraordinary insight into not only how businesses think about climate change, but also the creative self-destruction they are unleashing. Scholarly, yet easy to read, this is an essential contribution to understanding the role of big business in climate change - and what we can do to challenge it.' David Ritter, Chief Executive Officer, Greenpeace Australia Pacific

'Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg shatter the myth of corporate social responsibility as a solution for our climate crisis. Their compelling and hard-hitting analysis exposes the raw destructive power of capitalism - of unsustainable growth, corporations, a...

Christopher Wright is Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. He has researched and published widely in the areas of management knowledge diffusion, organisational change and consultancy. His current research explores organizational and societal responses to climate change, with a particular focus on how managers and business organizations interpret and respond to climate change. Daniel Nyberg is Professor of Management at Newcastle Business School, Australia, and an Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on political activities in and by organizations. He has pursued this interest in projects on how organizations respond to climate change, adaptations of sickness absence policies, and the implementation of new technologies.

Foreword Clive Hamilton; Acknowledgements; 1. Climate change and corporate capitalism; 2. Creative self-destruction and the incorporation of critique; 3. Climate change and the corporate construction of risk; 4. Corporate political activity and climate coalitions; 5. Justification, compromise and corruption; 6. Climate change, managerial identity and narrating the self; 7. Emotions, corporate environmentalism and climate change; 8. Political myths and pathways forward; 9. Imagining alternatives; Appendix; References; Index.