At a glance, it might seem that Steelcase has bigger things to worry about than its carbon footprint. As a maker of office furniture for big corporations across the globe, the company faces a challenging business environment as employees work remotely and offices remain unoccupied.
“The essence is that there's a strong business case,” she told me in January. “At the end of the day, there's a deep customer desire and expectation.”Steelcase’s experience might not be what you’d expect, given that in recent months, corporate climate claims have come under. Some conservative investors insist that companies should only focus on financial returns while some climate advocates decry business climate action as greenwashing.