As Katy Perry gleefully kissed the ground after her 11-minute Blue Origin space flight, I couldn’t help but wonder: In a time of deadly ocean heat waves, extreme weather, and record-high CO2 emissions, is this really the moment for space tourism?

Marking Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s 11th successful spaceflight for the New Shepard Program, six high-profile women were taken aboard a so-called “life changing” voyage just across the official space border and back. This most recent example of space tourism is likely to have generated approximately 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide (COâ‚‚) per passenger– to put this into perspective, that’s about the equivalent of one lifetime’s worth of emissions.

So, yes, it probably was life-changing. Yes, it is historical and (albeit controversially) a win for women in STEM, but it is not surprising that it has been condemned as “gluttonous” by critics online.

While Blue Origin has taken steps toward sustainability– such as developing reusable rockets and engines and improving supply chain practices- these efforts are largely aimed at making space tourism and off-Earth living more sustainable, rather than reducing carbon emissions in general. This is counterintuitive: off-Earth living is fundamentally at odds with true sustainability, as it’s a form of escapism that favours leaving Earth behind rather than saving it.

The importance of CEO leadership in sustainability

A successful example of eco-friendly CEO leadership would be Patagonia. In 2022, Patagonia’s founder and former CEO Yvon Chouinard made the innovative decision to transfer ownership of the company to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. Through this, Chouinard ensures that all of Patagonia’s profits are used to go towards the mission to fight climate devastation. Also, by making planet Earth Patagonia’s sole shareholder, Chouinard has upturned shareholder capitalism, and set a radically new example in environmental corporate leadership.

Patagonia’s new structure is incredibly noteworthy, especially because Patagonia’s CEO Chouinard was so integral to the change. Reflecting on this, Chouinard stated, “As the business leader I never wanted to be, I am doing my part. Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source.”

Sustainability is for the benefit of everyone

The environmental consciousness of our world’s most powerful CEOs is an increasingly contentious and necessary conversation to have. If, collectively, we let our planet die, even the most wealthy and innovative (Earth-based) CEO will no longer have any way to spend their money or to innovate, so it is in everyone’s interests to fight against the climate crisis, before it’s too late.

In 2017, The Guardian found that the top 100 companies are estimated to be responsible for 71 percent of global carbon emissions. Therefore, it is surely imperative that to solve the climate disaster, CEOs should be leading the way.

The expectation for CEOs to accept this responsibility is becoming more pressing: with all the information about climate change, why isn’t fighting it becoming more of a priority? A study from Edinburgh Napier University seeks to investigate exactly why some CEOs are more willing to step up than others.

CEO Power and Environmental Consciousness

The research, conducted by Anthony Kyiu, Assistant Professor in Finance at Durham University Business School, alongside his colleagues, Frank Obenpong Kwabi, from De Montfort University, and Gbenga Adamolekun, from Edinburgh Napier University, investigated 899 firms, spread across 26 different countries over 20 years (2000-2021).

The study investigated how the amount of power a CEO has affects their efforts to reduce the company’s carbon emissions. The researchers focused on firm-level governance data across this period, as well as financial data on all firms, greenhouse gas emissions, and the level of CEO compensation.

In doing so, the researchers found that whilst CEOs that were highly-educated were the most likely to act to reduce corporate emissions, CEOs with the greatest power were also amongst the most likely to invest in decarbonisation efforts.

The researchers suggest that whereas the motivation for higher-educated CEOs might lie in their own understanding of the need to act more sustainably, CEOs who have more power in their companies are focused on reducing carbon emissions due to a financial incentive.

In Professor Kyiu’s words, “If companies gave these CEOs greater power, and tied their financial incentives to decarbonisation, we could see a huge increase in the reduction of carbon emissions globally.”

With companies that are pushing towards net-zero becoming more attractive to investors, CEOs, whether they care about the planet or not, have a greater incentive to decarbonise.

Call to action for CEOs

Hurting the environment can hurt profits.

A study by Dr Bettina Becker of Durham University Business School found that companies pursuing green innovation strategies increase a company’s innovation success rate. This suggests that prioritising sustainability can drive both innovation and market growth.

Another study, by Stanford’s Stefan J. Reichelstein, revealed that ESG pay incentives do actually make companies more sustainable, without sacrificing profit.

In a time where brand reputation hinges on sustainability, smart CEOs know that they can’t afford not to care. As more and more members of the general public begin to self-reflect and adjust their lifestyles to become more sustainable, those with the greatest influence must the same.

So, Jeff Bezos’ decision to send Katy Perry to space wasn’t just bad for the environment, it was bad for business.

By Ella Coates

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