Weathering the Storm: Climate Disasters, Organizational Disruption, and Changes in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity

Drawing on the awareness–motivation–capability (AMC) framework and Durand et al. (2019), this paper examines why natural disasters as potential focusing events relate to firms’ decisions to alter their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity after a disaster hits the community where their headquarters are located. Focusing on 854 publicly listed U.S. firms from 2006 to 2020, we find an immediate, short-lived increase in GHG emissions intensity following disasters, consistent with temporarily disrupted motivation and degraded capability. However, as expected, we find that firms with higher firm-level motivation and capability to act exhibit a smaller increase in GHG emissions intensity in the years following disasters. Similarly, firms located in communities with stronger pro-environmental community logics (which enhance motivation to act) and greater social and economic capital (which increase their capability to act) show a lower increase in GHG emissions compared to firms in other communities. Critically, at each level (firm and community), when motivation and the capability to respond are both high, the post-disaster increase in GHG emissions intensity is attenuated and may even be reversed. The study extends research on firm responses to natural disasters, integrates perspectives from AMC and community logics, and identifies the conditions under which focusing events can translate into environmental action.