The business of rapid transition

In a context of climate emergency and calls from the IPCC for “transformative systemic change,” we need to revisit the role of business in helping to accelerate responses to climate crisis. The scale and depth of the challenges facing business have intensified in ways which force us to refocus our research on questions of urgency and speed, as well as the growing need for new and alternative business models and a fundamental re-balancing of the economy. There is a large literature dealing with business responses to climate change from a range of perspectives and disciplines covering issues such as corporate strategy and public policy engagement. But I argue that the question of the nature and speed of change now required, and whether there are historical and contemporary precedents for accelerated transitions within and beyond business, must assume a more central place in our research. This must be alongside growing efforts to understand how business will adapt to climate chaos. This conclusion implies a closer engagement and cross-fertilization of ideas with scholars of sustainability transitions, for example. Here, there is growing interest in the question of how to accelerate transitions, but where greater attention is required to the role of business actors.