Understanding and Overcoming Roadblocks to Environmental Sustainability : Past Roads and Future Prospects

This working paper examines key barriers to business sustainability discussed at a multidisciplinary conference held at the Harvard Business School in 2018. Drawing on perspectives from both the historical and business literatures, speakers debated the historical success and future opportunities for voluntary business actions to advance sustainability. Roadblocks include misaligned incentives, missing institutions, inertia of economic systems, and the concept of sustainability itself. It appears that overcoming these roadblocks will require systematic interventions and alternative normative concepts