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Sustainability and the Firm: From the Global to the Corporate Ecological Footprint

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Technology, Society and Sustainability

Abstract

Nowadays, sustainability is a topic of fundamental importance, having its roots in a large body of literature. The concerns of overpopulation putting pressure on scarce natural resources are not new, but the search for appropriate indicators to assess the performance of a geographical space or entity is becoming more and more urgent. The ecological footprint is one of the most widely used sustainability indicators on a global scale, extending its influence down to local firm level. In this section, we briefly review its origins, main features, strengths, and weaknesses. Companies are increasingly seeking metrical sustainability measures as a means of differentiating in competing markets. The account of a corporate (ecological) footprint may help the firm to find gaps and opportunities for enhancing its behavior, reducing internal and external costs, while improving its market image. However, results from this tool must be analyzed carefully and may lead to some misunderstandings. We illustrate the vulnerabilities of relying solely on the outcomes from the corporate footprint with the case study of a firm operating in Portugal, using a method which has been recently applied to some firms on the Iberian Peninsula.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We call “mainstream economics” the body of literature which developed from the works of Adam Smith, and which specifically refers to features of the neoclassic school of thought.

  2. 2.

    Type of land devoted to agriculture activities yielding vegetables, fruits, oil, coffee, cereals for animals, cotton, etc.

  3. 3.

    Area intended to produce meat, milk, wool, leather, and so on.

  4. 4.

    Land occupied by forests which produce timber resources used in the production of goods, as well as wood for fuel.

  5. 5.

    Biologically productive marine surface exploited by humans for fish and other marine food products.

  6. 6.

    areas occupied by all buildings and other infrastructure related to housing, transportation, and industrial production. Part of the area is paved, and other areas remain bioproductive as gardens or parks (Costa 2008; Pereira 2008; GFN 2010)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-464, Porto, Portugal

    Luisa Soares & Cristina Chaves

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  1. Luisa Soares
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  2. Cristina Chaves
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Correspondence to Cristina Chaves .

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  1. Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland

    Lech W. Zacher

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Soares, L., Chaves, C. (2017). Sustainability and the Firm: From the Global to the Corporate Ecological Footprint. In: Zacher, L. (eds) Technology, Society and Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47164-8_28

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