Author Matthew Archer discusses the pitfalls of corporate sustainability metrics. They delve into the tension between good intentions and corporate initiatives, exploring the need for transparency in environmental and social impacts. The conversation challenges the status quo of sustainability and advocates for diverse perspectives for social and ecological justice.
Corporate sustainability initiatives prioritize metrics determined by companies, overlooking ethical and societal implications.
Transition from CSR to sustainability in corporations driven by scandals, market demands, and SDGs, emphasizing multi-stakeholder engagement.
Deep dives
Matthew Archer's Evolution Into Anthropology and Corporate Sustainability
Matthew Archer, an anthropologist and Assistant Professor at Maastricht University, shares his journey from an economics background to anthropology, driven by an interest in the intersection of economy, environment, and power dynamics. His shift was influenced by a dissatisfaction with pure mathematical economics and a desire for practical impact in his research. This transition to anthropology allowed him to explore sustainability issues beyond mere econometric modeling, providing him a new perspective on the relationship between economics, power, and the environment.
The Shift from CSR to Sustainability in the Corporate World
In the corporate sustainability realm, there was a notable transition from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to sustainability as companies sought to align with broader environmental and market demands. Sustainability became a focal point post-scandals like Volkswagen's emissions cheating and revelations of forced labor in Nestle's supply chain. The move towards sustainability was accelerated with the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the emphasis on multi-stakeholder initiatives to address environmental and social impacts.
The Interplay Between Corporate Responsibility and Accountability
Corporate sustainability initiatives often prioritize responsibility through a lens of social license to operate, aiming to balance societal expectations with financial success. Companies engage in sustainability dialogues to safeguard their reputations, influence policy outcomes, and shape sustainability standards. This strategic participation in sustainability discussions reflects a dual motivation - avoiding negative perceptions while ensuring business-friendly sustainability policies.
Challenges in Corporate Sustainability Metrics and Narratives
The book 'Unsustainable: Measurement, Reporting, and the Limits of Corporate Sustainability' critiques the prevailing measurement-centric approach in sustainability, emphasizing the industry's focus on generating consistent numbers for comparability over time. Archer questions the underlying ideologies and motivations driving corporate sustainability narratives, urging a deeper reflection on what truly sustains unsustainable practices. By unraveling the established metrics-driven narratives, he highlights the need to reframe sustainability discussions with a critical lens focused on acknowledging ethical implications and multifaceted sustainability definitions.
Listen to my conversation with Matthew Archer, author of Unsustainable: Measurement, Reporting, and the Limits of Corporate Sustainability. In his beautifully written book, Matthew makes a case for being highly skeptical of corporate sustainability initiatives, especially as they've become increasingly grounded in metrics of all kinds that measure just and exactly what the companies themselves determine to be worthy of measuring. Framing sustainability as a technical issue has been and continues to be a failure, and so we ask: what it might mean to take this criticism seriously? Recorded Feb 2, 2024. Released Apr 8, 2024.
Unsustainable: Measurement, Reporting, and the Limits of Corporate Sustainability (Feb 2024, Published by NYU Press)