Implementation of environmental sustainability in business: Suggestions for improvement

This paper discusses the options for implementing ‘sustainable’ environmental business strategies that are acceptable to a multiplicity of stakeholders. To evaluate the current situation in Australia a content analysis of the web pages for leading companies indicates that there is little tangible evidence that sustainable business practices are being implemented. The authors propose several directions for research into substantive issues between ethical behaviour, corporate social responsibility and environmentally sustainable behaviour for business. Each of these areas is developing research in relative isolation. However, we argue that this paradigmatic divide is limiting the opportunities for research to provide real insight into seemingly intractable problems.

Research highlights
► Article discusses the options for implementing ‘sustainable’ environmental business strategies.
► Little evidence that sustainable business practices are being implemented by Australian companies.
► A paradigmatic divide is limiting the opportunities for research to provide real insights.