There’s a change in the weather: corporate reputation and climate change

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine recent developments in climate change solutions to determine their impact on corporate reputation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a review of recent literature and commentary on corporate and governmental climate change initiatives.

Findings

It is likely that as climate change initiatives move further from voluntary to compliance status, the reputational value of environmental responsibility for corporate reputation will diminish.

Research limitations/implications

There are no verifiable objective metrics to validate the opinions expressed.

Practical implications

Companies may reconsider the reputational “real estate” they devote to environmental issues and invest more effort in other social areas.

Social implications

The shift predicted may cause more companies to turn their reputational attention more emphatically to employees and communities.

Originality/value

The author is not aware of any work in evaluating the reputational impact of greater regulatory focus on climate change disclosure and compliance.

Citation

Hirsch, P.B. (2021), "There’s a change in the weather: corporate reputation and climate change", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 288-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-04-2021-0061