ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship of corporations to sustainable development. The idea that economies can be made ‘green’ (discussed in Chapter 5) depends on the parallel notion that corporations can become agents, perhaps even leaders, of such a shift. Many corporate leaders and commentators suggest that such a transition is in progress, or is possible. This chapter suggests caution. It starts by considering the role of corporations in managing the risks of technology, particularly in the context of the environmental impacts of manufacturing and pollution. It goes on to assess the ‘greening’ of businesses and the evolving relations between environmental organisations and corporations. It then explores the idea that consumers have a role in the greening of consumption, looking at attempts to trace supply chains and manage social and environmental relations from one end to the other. It looks at certification schemes such as Fair Trade and at attempts to make the global timber trade sustainable. Lastly, it looks at mining, both at the intractable environmental impacts of mining and at the implications of the way the biodiversity conservation movement has attempted to engage with the mining industry.
