The Role of Corporations in Achieving Ecological Sustainability

Abstract

Industrial development of the past 200 years has brought immeasurable wealth and prosperity. However, it has also caused an unintended eco-logical degradation. Hence, the focus of environmental law has shifted from the creation of global frameworks to deal with environmental problems to comply with those frameworks. As a result, the primary actors in environmental law have shifted from the state and the global community to corporations. As a consequence, environmental policies must develop along legally holistic lines. The role corporations have had in achieving ecological sustainability is poorly understood. In the backdrop of the above issues, the chapter examines the implications of ecologically sustainable development for corporations. It articulates corporate ecological sustainability through the concepts of environmental management and ecologically sustainable competitive strategies. It further examines the implications that these concepts have for a corporation in the long run.