Description
Companies increasingly commit to science-based targets to reduce environmental impacts and operate within planetary boundaries (Bjørn et al., 2022). However, most companies continue to prioritise business growth with the hope of decoupling their growth from environmental impacts.While limitations of decoupling within planetary boundaries at the macroeconomic level are well-documented in the literature (Haberl et al., 2020; Parrique et al., 2019), its feasibility at the company level remains understudied, which limits critically assessing decoupling in businesses (Lux et al., 2023).
To address this gap, this study proposes quantitative indicators for measuring company-level decoupling performances and critically evaluating its feasibility within absolute sustainability.
Indicators identified through a literature review (within macroeconomic decoupling, carbon corporate performance, absolute sustainability assessments and post-growth business) were refined and validated through testing and comparison using conceptual scenarios and empirical case studies.
The study resulted in the development of two types of quantitative indicators:
1. Indicators quantifying Absolute Environmental Sustainability Decoupling (AESD) (Villers et al., 2024): decoupling within absolute sustainability is measured by integrating companies’ environmental impacts, business performances and science-based environmental reduction targets. AESD indicators quantify the gap between achieved and required decoupling levels and introduce the "growth budgets” concept, defined by environmental budgets and achieved decoupling levels.
2. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) quantifying post-growth value creation in businesses: companies’ value creation in post-growth paradigms is quantified through the value created related to the satisfaction of human needs. The KPIs were designed to be used in the AESD indicators instead of traditional business growth metrics. As they align with established corporate language and frameworks, they can facilitate the integration of the post-growth paradigm into traditional business contexts.
The AESD indicators offer a means to evaluate the feasibility of decoupling within absolute sustainability in businesses and potentially determine the maximum achievable decoupling level, thereby strengthening the rationale for adopting growth budgets. The identified KPIs reinforce the need to reconsider traditional growth objectives by proposing alternatives to conventional business metrics. However, the operationalisation and adoption of post-growth KPIs within business contexts remain challenging due to the growth-oriented structural and institutional constraints and require further investigation.
By challenging the growth paradigm in businesses, this work opens doors for post-growth dialogues at the company level (Polewsky et al., 2024). While critically assessing company-level decoupling is important, it should not overshadow the need for further research into post-growth business organisations and practices (Hinton, 2021). Both areas are essential for fostering beyond-growth narratives.
| Period | 26 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 18th Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics and 11th International Degrowth Conference: Building socially just postgrowth futures - linking theory and action |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Oslo, NorwayShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |