The intersection of two crises : Climate change and COVID-19 framing in the Swedish private sector

Abstract: As global temperatures are rising, scientists call for urgent and drastic emission reductions to avoid facing irreversible consequences for planet and people. The year 2020, which was supposed to ignite what the United Nations called a ‘decade of action’ to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and climate mitigation targets, instead took an unexpected turn, with the emergence of a global pandemic of unprecedented measures. As societies worldwide are now faced with multiple crises, this thesis aims to explore how Sweden’s largest emitters describe the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. Through a qualitative content analysis and framing theory, annual and sustainability reports of three selected companies have been examined. The main finding is that companies do not frame the crises as interlinked, but rather as either intersecting or separate. However, for a more comprehensive answer, more extensive research about the framing of multiple crises is needed to understand and draw further conclusions on implications for the success of companies, their stakeholder relationships, and the broader global agenda of mitigating climate change. This thesis aims to add to the research debate on the Corona pandemic and its still ongoing effects on society and business.