Ecologically Conscious Organizations: New Business Practices Based on Ecological Commitment

292 Pages·2021·2.842 MB·English

by  András Ócsai

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH FUTURE EARTH
Ecologically Conscious
Organizations
New Business Practices
Based on Ecological
Commitment
András Ócsai
Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In
Association with Future Earth
Series Editors
Paul Shrivastava
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA, USA
László Zsolnai
Corvinus University of Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
SustainabilityinBusinessisincreasinglybecomingtheforefrontissuefor
researchers, practitioners and companies the world over. Engaging with
this immense challenge, Future Earth is a major international research
platform from a range of disciplines, with a common goal to support
and achieve global sustainability.This series will define a clear space for
the work of Future Earth Finance and Economics Knowledge-Action
Network. Publishing key research with a holistic and trans-disciplinary
approach, it intends to help reinvent business and economic models
for the Anthropocene, geared towards engendering sustainability and
creating ecologically conscious organizations.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15667
András Ócsai
Ecologically
Conscious
Organizations
New Business Practices Based on
Ecological Commitment
András Ócsai
Business Ethics Center
Corvinus University of Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
ISSN 2662-1320 ISSN 2662-1339 (electronic)
Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In Association with Future Earth
ISBN 978-3-030-60917-7 ISBN 978-3-030-60918-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60918-4
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Preface
Inaninterviewin1986,thelateErwinChargaff,aprofessorofbiochem-
istry at Columbia University, responded to the question whether there
is a place for ethics in science. He claimed that there could not be.
He said that while an American Indian might pray to a tree if they
neededtocutit,andmightalsoaskforforgiveness,scientiststransgressed
ethical boundaries in the seventeenth century when they sacrilegiously
started digging into nature. For a while, due to its relative inefficiency,
what we call modern science did relatively little harm. The nature of
the problematic relationship between ethics and science is a question for
the present times, Chargaff claimed, mainly due to the splitting of the
atom,nuclearenergy,andknowledgeaboutthegeneticmatterofthecell
nucleus.Chargaffemphasizedthatitwasnowmuchtoolate:sciencehad
lost its innocence, and science and ethics were now incompatible. He
concluded that anyone who sought to be an ethical individual should
v
vi Preface
study bookkeeping, or something other than science (Chargaff 1987,
p. 883).1
Not knowing about Chargaff’s suggestion, I graduated as an
economist in 2002, and worked in finance, accounting, and project
management for several multinational companies and in the public
sector.However,Ialwaysfoundmyselflookingforsomethingmorethan
just an increase in salary, and further career prospects. I began asking
myself,whatisthenoblegoalofethical,genuine,value-oriented,human
behavior? Where is love and respect for nature, and for non-human
beings? Can these values prevail in a business organization at all? At the
end of 2009, I came across an article about Buddhist economics, which
wasarevelationintermsofmyunderstandingoftheimportanceofnon-
mainstreameconomics.Idecidedtostudyalternativeeconomics,ranging
from ecological economics to Buddhist economics, and to conduct
researchonvalue-oriented,ecologicallyconsciousbusinessorganizations.
Unfortunately, the more than three decades that have passed since
Chargaff’s warning have shown that not only science but also the
economyandbusinessareindeepconflictwithethicsandecology.What
canweexpectfrombusinessatitsbestinthemidstofworseningclimate
changeandthreatssuchascoronavirusandotherhithertounknownviral
pandemics, at a time when the unpredictable consequences of what may
beecologicalbreakdownhavealreadysignificantlyincreasedthesuffering
of human and non-human beings?
This book is a snapshot of the results of my decade-long search for
ecologicalandhumanvaluesintheeconomyandbusiness.Myintention
has been to show the meaning and significance of ecological conscious-
ness in business, and how ecologically conscious business organizations
can become exemplary. In this book, I describe unusual business prac-
ticesthatarebasedongenuineecologicalcommitment.Ihopethatthese
exampleswillserveasinspirationforamoreecologicallyconsciouswayof
livingandfunctioning,andhelptocatalyzeendeavorsaimedatcreatively
1Chargaff, E. (1986, November 6): Az egyre ero˝södo˝ bizonytalanság légköre [An Atmosphere
of Growing Insecurity]. Interview by Tibor Szántó. Akadémiai Értesíto˝ / Magyar Tudomány
[AcademicBulletin/HungarianScience],Vol.94,No.11,pp.877–883. http://real-j.mtak.hu/
143/1/MATUD_1987.pdf. Accessed 20 July 2020 [in Hungarian].
Preface vii
contributing to the spiritual and material betterment of the world of
business, and beyond.
Budapest, Hungary András Ócsai
August 2020
Acknowledgments
I would hereby like to thank Paul Shrivastava and László Zsolnai, series
editors of Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In Association with
FutureEarth,andtheeditorialandproductionteamatPalgrave,particu-
larlyJessicaHarrison,SrishtiGupta,andGeethaChockalingam,fortheir
support and professional assistance.
IamgratefultoCorvinusUniversityofBudapestforinstitutionaland
financial support during the years it took to research and publish this
book. I acknowledge the help of my colleagues at the Business Ethics
Center at Corvinus University of Budapest, and that of scholars and
friendsfromtheHungarianandinternationalacademicworld,including
leadersandmembersoftheTransatlanticDoctoralAcademy(TADA)on
Business, Economics and Ethics, with whom I have engaged in fruitful
interaction and collaboration.
I sincerely thank the interviewees involved in the empirical research
for sharing details about their values, thoughts, and practices related to
ecological consciousness in business. I also wish to express my thanks
to my language editor, Simon Milton, for his great work improving the
English of the text.
ix
x Acknowledgments
I am exceptionally grateful to László Zsolnai for selfless mentorship
and continuous spiritual and intellectual support spanning more than a
decade. His genuine friendship has helped me through professional and
personal challenges in my life.
Fortheirlove,inspiration,support,andpatience,Ithankallmyfamily
members and friends, including those who have already crossed over.
András Ócsai