Integrating perspectives on sustainability challenges such as corporate responses to climate change

Introduction
Climate change is one of the environmental issues that has increasingly attracted business
attention in the course of the 1990s, when a range of stakeholders, including governments,
started to pay attention to the potentially very serious consequences, and to the need to take
action. Companies have developed different strategies to deal with climate change over the
years, initially more political, non-market in nature, but currently also market-oriented. Since
1995, companies’ political positions have gradually changed from opposition to climate
measures to a more proactive approach or a ‘‘wait-and-see’’ attitude, and many have started
to take market steps to be prepared to deal with regulation, or to go beyond that, considering
risks and opportunities. Some companies apparently rely on the course set by their national
governments following the adoption of the Kyoto protocol, and wait until the actual
implementation of climate policy before they take action. Others, however, have decided to
launch initiatives for emission reduction to anticipate future policy, societal or competitive
developments, thus facilitating compliance or the development of green resources and
capabilities (Kolk and Pinkse, 2004, 2005a, b).