With apologies for cross postings, I would like to share with you that there will a very interesting symposium on "Global business and climate change", scheduled for Monday morning, August 6, 10:40 - 12.00 in Loews Philadelphia, Regency Ballroom C2 Second Floor. The symposium is sponsored by the IM, SIM and ONE divisions.
The issue of global climate change has received large attention, from policy makers, NGOs, the media, consumers, the public-at-large and, increasingly, also firms and their investors. Until the late 1990s, most firms focused on non-market strategies, usually to oppose upcoming regulatory regimes. In more recent years, however, alongside these political responses, firms have developed market strategies to address global warming and reduce emissions through product and process improvements, and emission trading. The exact composition of firms overall strategic positioning depends on the firm-specific (perceived) risks and opportunities related to climate change and the type of regulation relevant for the industry and countries in which firms operate. In view of the current diversity in post-Kyoto policy developments, including a compulsory emission trading scheme in Europe and a range of (emerging) voluntary systems in the US and Australia, firms climate strategies exhibit clear variations. This has implications for the way in which climate change affects firms competitive, economic position, but also for the extent to which business activities contribute to emission reduction and thus help to addresss the problem. This symposium will examine global business responses to climate change, also exploring to what extent business has (sufficient) incentives to do well by doing good, and to what extent this varies between different regions and/or particular sectors. Presentations will focus in more detail on the situation in Europe, the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, while discussants offer reflections related to international management, market and political strategies, and public policy implications. The symposium concludes with a discussion between presenters, discussants and audience members.
The presenters are:
* David Levy (University of Massachusetts, Boston): Business strategies and climate change: recent trends in North America"
* Jonatan Pinkse (University of Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands): Strategically managing Europe's institutional constraints on climate change
* Nardia Haigh (University of Queensland Business School, Australia): Responses to climate change in Australia's electricity supply industry
The discussants are:
* Alain Verbeke (University of Calgary, Canada), who will focus on the implications for theory development in the international management/strategy area
* Jennifer Griffin (George Washington University), who will pay specific attention to the political strategy, public affairs and policy dimensions.
I will introduce and chair the session.
Hope to see many of you there.
Kind regards,
Ans Kolk
Prof.dr. Ans Kolk
University of Amsterdam Business School
The Netherlands