Deconstructing myth: low-carbon sustainability

Haigh, Matthew M. (2013). Deconstructing myth: low-carbon sustainability. Social Semiotics, 23(1) pp. 47–66.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2012.693296

Abstract

Informed by a semiotics that directs attention to the context of the message, this paper contributes to work on the meanings of terms such as “low-carbon”, “green”, and “sustainability”. Interview-based evidence and printed material are used to assess the interest of hundreds of financial institutions in data on carbon emissions levels and environmental projects. The collection of such data is where for most interviewees its usefulness stopped. Such is typical of myth. By collecting carbon data, financial institutions can connote they are doing something about addressing the risks posed by global warming, without actually describing what it is they are doing.

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About

• Item ORO ID
• 50557
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 1035-0330
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  Not Set	Not Set	UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  Not Set	Not Set	CDP
  Not Set	Not Set	Aarhus University

• Keywords
• green capitalism; fiduciary investment; Carbon Disclosure Project; myth; signifier
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) > Business > Department for Accounting and Finance
  Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) > Business
  Faculty of Business and Law (FBL)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2013 Taylor and Francis
• Depositing User
• Matthew Haigh