A Shift in corporate practice? Facilitating sustainability strategy in companies

Increasingly, there has been a great deal of attention paid to the notion of corporate sustainability, which has variously been defined as meaning the incorporation of social, environmental, economic, and cultural concerns into corporate strategy. Therefore, corporations, particularly those that have global presence, are required to commit to sustainability strategies and practice as a means of expressing their support and commitment to the notion. This study examines managers' actual sustainability perceptions and practices. The paper reports on an empirical study carried out in New Zealand in which 15 large companies were interviewed in 2009 about their sustainability strategy and practice. Results reveal that companies that participated in the study are keen to demonstrate that sustainability is integral to their policy and have various projects and initiatives to support their position and commitment. However, with lack of ‘organised’ stakeholder pressure on corporations in New Zealand to showcase their sustainability attributes, with very few exceptions, the question of what really motivates sustainability projects/initiatives is compelling.