A terrible beauty is born (1). Schendler takes a critical look at the human impact of climate change and society’s contradictions in facing this crisis. He offers a radical critique of the insufficient actions taken by both businesses and individuals. It’s a thought-provoking read…
Our contradictions in facing climate change
Based on
Terrible Beauty: Reckoning with Climate Complicity and Rediscovering Our Soul, byAuden Schendler (Harvard Business Review Press, November 2024).
ARGUMENT #1 : Schendler exposes the fool’s mirror
Critique of corporate sustainability: Corporate sustainability initiatives and individual actions, while important, are insufficient to address the climate crisis. They often distract from the necessary structural reforms, and preserve the status quo of fossil capitalism.
Critique of individual responsibility: The concept of individual responsibility, promoted by companies like BP, shifts the burden onto citizens to resolve the crisis while ignoring the massive impact of major fossil fuel companies. This approach guilt-trips individuals and limits effective collective action.
Critique of the values-actions gap: There is a dissonance between human values—such as protecting family, community, and nature—and the often inadequate or symbolic actions to combat climate change. Schendler calls this contradiction a “terrible beauty,” and urges us to reevaluate our priorities.
She spent 12 years in industry, working for Bolloré Technologies, among others. She co-founded Business Digest in 1992 and has been running the company since 1998. And she took the Internet plunge in 1996, even before coming on board as part of the BD team.
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