Abstract
A key challenge in the twenty-first century is to enable economic growth and increase both environmentalquality and social inclusiveness, while mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The need for a transition to more sustainable consumption and production patterns is undeniable and sustainable economic growth must be placed at the heart of future development for all citizens. The South African private sector is under enormous pressure to remain globally competitive while balancing the interests of society, the environment and its shareholders. It has been suggested that there are discrepancies between what companies say and what they actually do, as they are challenged to move from policy to action. This paper evaluates the extent to which the private sector in South Africa adheres to voluntary climate change mitigation mechanisms and identifies potential market barriers impeding the large-scale uptake of such mechanisms. The research findings suggest that the private sector in South Africa has adopted a “take position, wait and see approach” which places them in a position to take advantage of and influence the opportunities and risks associated with climate change without having a negative impact on the bottom line. The primary barrier to voluntary climate change action is the vagueness of local and international policy frameworks. The different rules and resultant uncertainty around local and international frameworks appear to impede consistent and meaningful action. Although this uncertainty does not prevent the private sector from taking voluntary action, it does appear to negatively affect the overall scale and type of climate change mitigation efforts. While companies are continually improving the quality of sustainability reporting and public disclosure, the challenge still lies in translating these strategies into daily operations and sustainable practice that goes beyond ad hoc mitigation actions.
Highlights
Climate change is the “greatest and widest ranging market failure ever seen”
This study aims to identify the market barriers preventing the private sector from voluntarily introducing climate change mitigation
The major changes involved combining questions, rewording and clarifying terminology. This process validated the research conducted in the literature review by identifying themes acting as a market barrier to corporate voluntary climate change mitigation, which was further tested in Phase 2
Summary
Climate change is the “greatest and widest ranging market failure ever seen”. It will have an estimated potential cost of a minimum of 5 per cent of annual global GDP, if action is not taken (Stern, 2006:1). This study aims to identify the market barriers preventing the private sector from voluntarily introducing climate change mitigation. This was achieved by exploring the existence of market barriers in the climate change mitigation market through a literature review, test questionnaires, full questionnaires and follow up semi- structured interviews, with a focus on Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Sustainability Reporting Investment (SRI) Index 2010 companies. This paper first reviews the relevant sustainable development, corporate governance and climate change literature. It presents the research design and methods, followed by the research results, recommendations, future research, conclusions and references
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