(Re)focusing on planetary boundaries for corporate sustainability research

Abstract

Earth’s natural systems are increasingly destabilizing as human industrial activity has overshot planetary boundaries such as climate change and biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss). While organizational scholarship on sustainability is increasing in prevalence and importance, the planetary boundaries framework has been under-studied and under-applied. To advance scholarship and practice, we assert the planetary boundaries framework can guide future research in three ways: (1) tuning to and measuring the state of particular planetary boundaries, (2) inviting attention to temporal and spatial properties, and (3) as a tool for inter- and transdisciplinary scholarship. We develop a reference framework that conceptualizes interactions between organizations and the planetary boundaries to develop specific, researchable questions. Organizational attention to planetary boundaries is driven by their dependence on them, which consequently impacts planetary boundaries and ecosystem resilience, with contextual influences shaping these interactions. We hope to encourage organizational scholars to explore how organizations can strategize and implement practices as embedded within planetary boundaries.