Exploring corporate environmental responsibility through practitioners’ lens

Abstract

Purpose Organizations are partly responsible for the pollution in the world and are expected to contribute towards curbing climate change. Despite the growing importance of the environmental aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR), i.e. corporate environmental responsibility (CER), current literature focuses more on its antecedents and outcomes rather than drilling deeper into the essential elements of the concept. This has resulted in conceptual confusion as researchers use different aspects to define, understand and measure CER. Hence, this study aims to identify the critical dimensions of CER from a practitioner’s point of view. Design/methodology/approach Twenty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior sustainability professionals across top Bombay Stock Exchange-indexed organizations in India. Manual content analysis and the Gioia method were used to arrive at the findings. Findings The critical components of CER are as follows: encompassing environmental responsibility mindset; optimized resource consumption; neutral water, energy and air status; multi-level environmental responsibility approach and targets; compliance, disclosure, reporting and policy formation; and green supply chain. Originality/value Our research introduces a comprehensive framework of dimensions to study, measure and represent CER, addressing a critical gap in the current literature. The authors identify and propose novel dimensions, such as the CER mindset and a multi-level approach, which are essential for a holistic understanding of CER. These dimensions, presently absent in academic definitions, render existing research based on those definitions incomplete. Integrating these new dimensions will significantly enhance the rigor and relevance of CER studies, offering a more robust foundation for future research and practical application.