Business strategies and the transition to low‐carbon cities

Business Strategy and the Environment - Tập 20 Số 4 - Trang 251-265 - 2011
Gail Whiteman1, D. René de Vos2, F. Stuart Chapin3, Vesa Yli‐Pelkonen4, Jari Niemelä4, Bruce C. Forbes5
1Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2Rotterdam School of Management, CEMS, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
3Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
4Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
5Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

Tóm tắt

AbstractCities are key drivers of global climate change, with the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being tied to urban life. Local actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change are essential for stabilization of the global climate and can also help to address other urban ecological problems such as pollution, decreasing biodiversity, etc. Companies are important urban actors in the development of low‐carbon cities because they provide a multitude of goods and services to city populations and directly influence urban carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is a new area of research. While studies on corporate sustainability are numerous, there is little, if any, existing research that examines the role of companies in climate change adaptation and mitigation within specific urban areas. Urban ecologists also have not examined how corporate activity affects urban systems. Taking a multi‐disciplinary systems approach, we present a conceptual model of the role of companies in managing urban interactions with the climate system. We also present empirical findings illustrating how one company ‘partners’ with the city of Rotterdam to test electric vehicles as a pilot project for urban climate adaptation and mitigation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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Business Strategy and the Environment

Tập 20 Số 4

251-265

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