Organizational Adoption of Carbon Neutral Practices: A British Columbia Case Study

• In Event: 046 - Section on Environment and Technology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Environmental Policy and Governance

Abstract

Climate change policies are proliferating at a local and regional level. Within this landscape, organizational climate change action is shifting from voluntary to mandated, and organizations are grappling with new pressures to reduce their environmental impact. This research looks at the implementation of a climate change policy across a group of organizations in British Columbia, Canada. Provincial legislation enacted in 2008 requires all public sector organizations in British Columbia to reduce their carbon emissions, and report annually on their progress in the form of Carbon Neutral Action Reports. This study uses a content analysis of the 2012 Carbon Neutral Action Reports from 128 organizations to examine the types of practices organizations adopt when mandated to reduce their carbon footprint. Consistent with prior research on environmental practice adoption, this work suggests that resources, institutional arrangements, and networks are all influential in shaping the adoption of carbon neutral practices. Further work is needed to explicate the mechanisms through which these pressures shape organizational choices, and ongoing research agenda in this area is discussed.

Author

• Georgia Piggot, University of British Columbia