Our research into business responses to climate change began in late 2008 as an area of emerging organisational change in major corporations. Climate change had become the subject of increasing political debate in the lead-up to the 2007 federal election in Australia, and following that, in proposals by the then Labor government for the introduction of an Emissions Trading System (ETS). Corporations, business associations, the media, and political parties placed increasing emphasis on the issue of climate change and GHG emissions regulation during this period, and as we have outlined in the book this policy debate has driven significant corporate activity.

During 2009 we undertook extensive background research on this topic by reviewing media coverage of business responses to climate policy and initiating background interviews with key industry informants. In early 2010, we applied for Australia Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant funding to investigate this topic with a focus on its organisational change implications. We were successful in gaining funding for the period 2011–2013 (ARC Discovery Grant DP110104066).

Data collection

In gathering data about business responses to climate change, we sought to access both documentary and interview data. We began by undertaking a systematic review of publicly-available sustainability reports, webpages, and presentations from large corporations operating within Australia. This included companies from a broad range of industry sectors including manufacturing, transport, retail, communications, construction, energy, resources, and financial and professional business services. Many of these organisations were subsidiaries of large multinational corporations allowing us to link our analysis of their stated strategies and practices with broader global initiatives.

A secondary stage of data collection focused on semi-structured interviews with senior sustainability specialists in a selection of these organisations. We identified these individuals through their profiles on corporate websites and through networks of sustainability professionals. Our initial stage of interviewing resulted in a total of 36 interviews with a broad range of such sustainability specialists. Beyond descriptions of sustainability practices, we asked individuals about their work and career history and their personal attitudes to the environment and climate change.