Corporate Stewardship

Book excerpt: Stewardship entails a profound understanding and acceptance of the challenges that result from the organization’s interdependence with the societal and ecological contexts in which it operates—and of what it takes to embrace the challenges to be a force for building a viable future. This book dares to ask ‘why’ business leaders should embrace stewardship in the current market where profit reigns supreme. A shift in approach represents fundamental change for the corporate world, and even the most advanced corporations consider themselves to be in the starting block of this transition. The book sets out the practical ways in which corporate stewardship can be achieved through embedding new approaches across the different functions of a business. This book, written by the leading thinkers in sustainability research, provides practical guidance on how companies can resolve the paradoxical challenges they face. How can they be at the same time profitable and responsible, effective and ethical, sustainable and adaptable? It explores what businesses are doing, what they can and should do to effectively respond to external challenges, and focuses on how leaders can create cultures, strategies, and designs far beyond “business as usual”.Stewards must not only make proper current use of that which they hold in trust, they also must leave it in better condition for use by future generations. Corporate Stewardship challenges managers, executives, and directors of global corporations to think and act as stewards of both their organizations and the physical and social environments in which they operate.