Framing environmental responsibility: 30 years of CSR messages in National Geographic Magazine

For decades corporations have been promoting their responsible behaviors toward the environment. This study looks at three ways organizations have framed their corporate environmental responsibility over the past 30 years. Specifically, the study finds that organizations focus on the way their environmental behaviors contribute to solutions (gain frame) rather than prevent environmental problems (loss frame). They focus on solving problems for the current generation rather than future generations, and they promote their actions (doing more) rather than promote their conservation (taking less from the earth). However, some differences in framing and use of environmental topic emerge over time.