Mobilising knowledge for corporate environmental performance and innovation in the context of global warming and net zero

Abstract Corporations are increasingly held to account for their environmental performance given the looming climate crisis and its local and global footprints. It is observed that mobilising knowledge for superior environmental performance is challenging given the disputed authority of corporate officers, the variable value of expertise, and the ambivalence of investors as to the costs and benefits of such commitments. Not surprisingly, major corporations are beset by conflict over the allocation and use of scarce management resources. Recognising the challenges of mobilising knowledge to give effect to net-zero, this paper deploys Meric Gertler’s classic papers on codified and tacit knowledge to better understand the nature and scope of corporate environmental management and innovation. Focusing upon Anglo-America corporations, implications are drawn with respect to the challenges facing multi-product and multi-jurisdictional corporations in adapting the emerging world of net-zero.