California Management Review

Abstract

This paper critically examines the use of climate-related scenario planning in organizations. Scenario planning is a crucial tool for managing climate risk, strategic development, and organizational learning. However, these benefits can be compromised by low-quality processes and inconsistencies in methods and data. Examination of corporate reporting from 24 major Australian companies reveals significant variability in scenario quality and transparency of scenario planning processes, with implications for stakeholder communication, risk management, and greenwashing. We provide practical recommendations for improving the use of scenario planning to better meet evolving corporate management standards, regulatory reporting requirements, and stakeholder expectations.

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