Tourism is a key driver of development, particularly in areas with rich environmental or cultural resources. The United Nations declared 2017 as the year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, but how sustainable is ecotourism? Setting off on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure on safari in East Africa for our summer holidays, my husband and I wanted to be […]
Insights
Business + Purpose = Big Trouble. But Wait, Here is One Surprising Point of Agreement
Reactions to the recent statement by the Business Roundtable that recognizes a regard for stakeholders rather than a narrow focus on shareholders as a pillar of corporate purpose have been swift, strong and predictably diverse.
Social Enterprises = Sharing Economy Organizations?
Sharing Economy Organizations Uber, Airbnb, and Lyft are frequently cited and popular examples of new organizational forms operating in the sharing economy, which is growing at a stunning pace. One way to make sense of the sharing economy is to conceive it as a web of markets in which individuals use diverse forms of compensation to transact the redistribution […]
Crowdfunding as a cooperative movement – The present and future of crowdfunding in Denmark
How does crowdfunding look like in Denmark and where is it heading? Drawing on empirical data from two well-known reward-based crowdfunding platforms (Kickstarter and IndieGoGo), I try to give a quick overview of the two most famous examples of crowdfunding in Denmark. After which I will give my predictions for where the Danish crowdfunding sector […]
More CEOs Sacked For Ethical Failure Than For Poor Financial Performance
According to a recent study, for the first time more CEOs have been dismissed for ethical lapses than for poor financial performance (in 2018). What is the lesson? I think that we overvalue compliance and undervalue the effects of a corporate culture on sustainable business decisions… Just a few days ago, Strategy& (the consulting arm […]
Who Cares About Sustainable Fashion?
Can ever-higher rates of consumption ever truly be sustainable? Consideration of up-and-coming consumers will be key to making progress in the sustainability of the fashion industry. Each year in May, Copenhagen hosts the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, which brings together fashion industry leaders to consider the environmental and social sustainability issues rife within the industry. While this year’s […]
The year of corporate acting—does business need a new approach to palm oil?
2018 went down as the ‘year of corporate caring’ about the palm oil controversy. A banned TV advertisement promoting a Palm Oil free Christmas by the UK supermarket Iceland went viral on social media with over 5 million views in merely a couple of weeks. Shortly after, on the south bank in London, Iceland responded to the […]
We Need To Pay More Attention To Business Associations
Despite their key role in both national and international affairs, business associations remain strangely absent from academic discourse, teaching and research on corporate responsibility and sustainability. We clearly need to pay more attention to business associations. The prominence of business associations Business associations play an important role in promoting corporate responsibility and sustainability. One need […]
Current issues in Business and Human Rights: report from the 2018 Annual Forum in Geneva
‘Building on what works’ was the key topic for the annual Forum on Business and Human Rights that took place in Geneva on 26. to 28. November. With more than 2000 participants, the Forum has become the world’s largest gathering of practitioners, academics, civil society, governments and just about anyone else with an interest in the field […]
Why Corporate Sustainability is Bullshit (And Why This is a Good Thing)
Corporate sustainability is full of statements, terms, and concepts that are empty, unclarifiable and vague. Instead of rejecting such vagueness altogether, we should embrace it. Bullshit can be productive. Consider the following statement: “The concept of shared value can be defined as policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously […]