Incongruence: Climate change and business’ challenge – an in-depth look

The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and Environmental Change Institute (ECI) co-hosted a series of four seminars during the Michaelmas Term 2010 on the theme of Incongruence: Climate change and business’ challenge – an in-depth look.

The Incongruence seminars were presented by Dr Mick Blowfield, senior research fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and Mr Leo Johnson , sustainability partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a Smith School business fellow.

Summary: Incongruence was a four-part series of seminars that takes an in-depth look at how climate change will affect the role, management and success of business over the coming decades.  It set out the size and nature of what amounts to a fundamental turnaround challenge for companies worldwide, assessed how well this challenge is being met, examined the possibilities and limitations of tackling climate change in a free enterprise system, and asked what business will look like in the different worlds climate change could create.  What emergeed is that business has entered an era of incongruence where the prosperity of business and wider society are no longer interlinked, but seemingly at odds.  Each seminar addressed a different aspect of this incongruence, and asked how business as a major institution in society will act.

Seminar 1: ‘The Depth of Business’ Climate Change Challenge’  

Seminar 2: ‘Climate Change Solutions: The Marvellous Mistake’  

Seminar 3: ‘The Incongruence Jeopardy’  

Seminar 4: ‘Good Growth and Other Paths to Congruence’  

Each seminar was chaired by a specialist in business and sustainability. Chairs included Mr Martin Smith (Founding Benefactor, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment) and Ms Sophia Tickell (Meteos Ltd and SustainAbility).

For those who missed, or wish to re-visit, the seminars please view the slides and videos available under each seminar title.