Twentieth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

In today’s complex world, the triple bottom line of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social elements) touches most organizations. The sustainability agenda requires change leaders to translate vision into action (Lueneburger and Goleman, 2010) using a range of change management techniques to support stakeholder engagement. Policy tools include legislation (e.g., laws restricting pollution) and regulation (industry programs such as LEED-certified buildings). Other techniques emphasize culture change, as a strong “green” culture in alignment with top executive values may increase stakeholder commitment to the organization’s overall sustainability mission (Harris and Crane, 2002). Two powerful culture change tools for sustainability are communication and education. Social media supports these tools by providing a platform for rapid and global information-sharing about sustainability (Reilly and Larya, 2018). Each day consumers make purchasing decisions based on social media, where examples of “greenwashing” abound (misleading positive representations of sustainability performance). Indeed, social media influencers can make or break a company’s sustainability reputation. This paper discusses how organizations use social media to communicate and educate stakeholders about their sustainability activities. Data from companies, industry reports, and social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) are used to demonstrate sustainability strategies and their link to organizational culture.