Organizing for the Climate Emergency: Organizational Underpinnings of Climate Action

Abstract

In 2019, the Oxford Word of the Year was climate emergency, “a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.” Indeed, with other developments such as the rise of the Fridays for Future school strikes for the climate and the naming of 16-year old Greta Thunberg as TIME Person of the Year, it is no stretch to say that it was a monumental year for climate change. Sadly, while the science behind climate change is clear and tens of thousands of scientists have declared a climate emergency that could bring catastrophic effects for humanity, society continues to face grave challenges of inaction on the parts of individuals, organizations, and entire nations. To reflect on and discuss how we can redress shortcomings of climate action and contribute to tackling the climate emergency, we have organized a panel symposium featuring leading organizational theorists researching climate-related issues. Overall, this symposium seeks to bring together scholars to explore and discuss promising avenues for research on the specific challenge of climate change within the domain of organizational and management research, as well as how we can, practically speaking, conduct such research in a way that positively impacts both theory and practice. Key topics and questions concerning climate change and action to be explored in this symposium include: a.) clarifying what system change means and entails, b.) constructing a commons logic and collective action frames, c.) overcoming polarization and the role of emotional responses, d.) winding down traditional businesses and identifying transition pathways, and e.) producing actionable knowledge.