Diversity for sustainability: an interdependent model of corporate social responsibility

The purpose of this paper is to develop an organisational framework that facilitates and institutionalises the alternate resources - worldviews and technologies - offered by Indigenous and other cultures that enrich our understanding of issues related to diversity and sustainability. The paper argues that participation of culturally diverse employees, particularly those from Indigenous backgrounds, in corporate social responsibility initiatives is vital to achieve environmental as well as economic sustainability. In addition to other benefits usually associated with managing a culturally diverse workforce, Indigenous knowledge is instrumental to develop a practical understanding of how ecological systems operate, how key components such as biological diversity and human society interrelate in the total system, and how predictive environmental outcomes that result from an organisation’s operations can best be managed. The proposed ‘diversity for sustainability’ approach is expected to enable the utilisation of the rich potential of cultural diversity for environmental sustainability.