The Tyranny of Tensions: The Myth that is Corporate Sustainability

The notion of tensions in corporate sustainability has for long served as an excuse to limit action and therefore further exacerbate the sustainability issues we face. While concepts like the Triple Bottom Line, and the approaches to managing tensions, ostensibly seek to balance financial, social and environmental outcomes, they, in reality, prioritize financial outcomes and serve to preserve the existing business paradigm. They create the delusion of responsible corporations while serving to preserve the status quo. We argue that true and strong sustainability calls for a rejection of the balance or Both/And approach; it calls for a hierarchical approach, where social good, the elimination of environmental harm and the restoration of the environment are prioritized over economic/financial outcomes. We do not discount the importance of financial sustainability; we simply argue that it cannot be obtained at the cost of a reasonable quality of life for all current and future generations of all species.