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Organizational system thinking as a cognitive framework to meet climate targets
Matteo Burato1, Samuel Tang2, Vincenzo Vastola3
1Leonardo Centre on Business for Society, Imperial College Business School, London SW7 2BX, UK.
Summary
Organizations can exhibit system thinking, a cognitive framework crucial for pro-environmental behavior. This study shows system thinking organizations are more likely to reduce emissions and meet global climate targets.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Organizational Behavior
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Individual system thinking correlates with climate change concern and pro-environmental behavior.
- Individual actions have limited impact on climate change compared to organizational activities.
- The existence and impact of organizational system thinking remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conceptualize and define organizational system thinking.
- To develop an empirical method for estimating organizational system thinking.
- To investigate the relationship between organizational system thinking and emissions reduction aligned with climate targets.
Main Methods:
- Conceptualization of organizational system thinking as an aggregated group-level cognitive framework.
- Development of an empirical estimation method using large-scale textual data from businesses.
- Statistical analysis to link estimated organizational system thinking levels with emissions data.
Main Results:
- Organizations can exhibit measurable levels of system thinking.
- Higher organizational system thinking is associated with lower emissions.
- System thinking organizations demonstrate greater alignment with Paris Agreement climate pathways.
Conclusions:
- System thinking is a relevant cognitive framework at the organizational level.
- Fostering organizational system thinking can aid in achieving global climate targets.
- The study has significant theoretical and policy implications for climate action.
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