The ‘purpose ecosystem’: Emerging private sector actors in earth system governance

Frederik Dahlmann, Wendy Stubbs, Rob Raven, João Porto de Albuquerque

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The private sector arguably plays a critical role in addressing the challenges of the Anthropocene and providing potential solutions to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Recently, a myriad of new actors in the form of intermediaries, initiatives and organisations have started driving wider systems change by advocating and advising companies to reconsider and broaden their fundamental ‘raison d’être’. In this Perspective we argue that the emergence of this ‘purpose ecosystem’ could play an important function within earth system governance, specifically by endorsing and accelerating action aligned with achieving the UN SDGs; yet we also highlight a number of risks, barriers and critical considerations for its overall assessment and propose important questions for further research.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100053
Number of pages16
JournalEarth System Governance
Volume4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2020

Keywords

  • Earth system governance
  • Private sector
  • Purpose ecosystem
  • Purpose-driven business
  • UN sustainable development goals

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