There is a LOT of academic work on the business case for sustainability.  Some people think that being good at sustainability will lead to greater customer loyalty, higher willingness to pay, lower risks, more innovation and so forth.  Others aren’t so sure.  As a generalization I think most academics would agree that it might not help all companies financially, but also it probably won’t lead to losses either.

Tood Schifeling and I have been thinking that another perspective about the business case might be useful.  Rather than debating the issue in general terms, we propose that how people utilize the business case argument in specific settings is also interesting.  Is the business case for sustainability always necessary?  Not if you ask Patagonia…  Is it always sufficient to make a company change strategy?  Definitely not!  Do managers spend too much time and effort creating and pitching a compelling business case about an initiative and idea they are proposing?  Quite possibly, according to some published research.  In our essay we also think about the business case as impediment, enabler and chrysalis.  Maybe the best that can be expected, we conclude, is for the business case to catalyze institutional change that unlocks deeper pathways to reform, but success is far from assured.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2024.2388641