Workshop: The Corporation between Nature and Value

This workshop explored the profound influence of modern business corporations on social, cultural, and political landscapes. It focused on how corporations mediate between political values and the material realities of non-human nature. The conference examined the specific conceptions of freedom, progress, efficiency, and affluence embodied in corporations and their environmental impact. It questioned whether corporations are constrained to value non-human nature in unsustainable ways and explores the implications of corporate activity on political values. The conference featured scholars from various fields (law, organization sciences, political theory, philosophy) and offered an opportunity for in-depth discussions on these important issues. The program included presentations on accounting as worldmaking, corporate reason in nature, confronting corporate capitalism in the climate crisis, moral considerations on carbon dioxide removal, and the philosophical underpinnings of relational values.