As companies around the world continue to grow and innovate, there have been many corporations that have implemented sustainable practice as part of their marketing campaigns and executive decisions. One example of a sustainable company is Patagonia. They are an outdoor apparel company whose owner is known n for all the sustainable and green strategies that he has implemented in the company. Implementations like creating a sustainable supply chain or using recyclable materials to manufacture clothing are two examples of what they have done. This implementation has accomplished to purposes; first, create awareness and attract consumers who care about the environment and sustainable practices; and second, follow what their mission statement says: “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis” (Patagonia). In this research paper, I will focus on the impact of sustainable practices within an organization.
The way that many corporations around the world have been doing business has changed in past three decades. In 1969, the United States was the first country to implement environmental sustainability policies according to the Environmental Protection Agency. After this event, other countries started to create policies as well. What did this mean for business? As more policies were created, people slowly started to become more aware about environmental issues. Especially in the late 70’s to early 90’s, when governments started to create more policies and people started to create environmental movements. As people started to care more about environmental problems, they started to demand more sustainable practices by business. According to Nick Feinstein ...
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With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
Supplying eco-friendly products has been on the Walmart agenda since the early 1990s. After a failed first attempt and much criticism, the company decided to try again. In a speech made in October of 2005, CEO of Walmart, H. Lee Scott Jr., declared Walmart would devise a “business sustainable strategy” to reduce the environmental impact the company had. Walmart could not pull this off alone. If they only focused on the confines of themselves, rather than all that they were involved with, it was estimated that they’d only reduce their impact by about 10%. To reach that goal of 100%, Walmart had to involve stakeholders to make networks which achieve sustainability. These networks proved to be vital in not only Walmart’s goal in minimizing its environmental impact, but recovering their reputation, avoiding criticism, saving money, raising awareness, improving customer satisfaction, and creating incentive for other businesses to work towards sustainability.
Patagonia outdoor clothing company, established in 1972, began its’ journey based on the passion of outdoor climbing. Yvon Chouinard, founder and resident philosopher, built his multi-million dollar empire with a vision of inspiring and implementing solutions to the environmental crisis. Trial and error brought various challenges to surface which guided the success of the company creating an awareness of sustainability. A downward spiral of the economy resulted in a global recession influencing society’s perception. Chouinard’s goal was to prove that by doing the right thing, it is possible to be both environmentally responsible and profitable at the same time.
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Yvon Chouinard is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, legendary climber, and surfer. He is also a writer, writing essays on outdoor climbing issues and ethics, and more recently publishing a book about mixing environmentalism and sound business practice in corporate policies (Green Economy Initiative, 2011). Chouinard is most noted for his clothing and gear company, Patagonia, Inc., where he has constructed a culture that strives to create an ideal working environment where employees thrive and become more productive at the same time. Patagonia’s environmental ethic is outstanding, having founded 1% For the Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1 percent of their net annual sales to approved environmental organizations, and is working to revolutionize supply chain transparency in their company. Sustainable business practices have been at the core of the company since it was founded in the late 1950s – long before sustainability and being “green” became buzzwords. Yvon Chouinard is not only a successful business person, but a leader with discipline, vision, and influence.
Jared Diamond, in his essay “Will Big Business Save the Earth?”, argues that even though multi-billion dollar corporations generate massive amounts of waste, they are also capable of being forerunners in support of environmentalism. Without a doubt, Diamond makes it very clear to the reader that, originally, he was of the opinion that big corporations were incapable of minimizing their impact on the environment, due to their purely financial drive to accumulate revenue for their investors. But when he became a board member of environmentalist outfits like the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International, he was given the task to assess the environmental impact of various companies across differing economic sectors. While there were indeed some that made a huge negative impact on the environment, in his research, Diamond noticed that were a sizeable number of companies that excelled greatly in being more cautious in how they affect the environment. Of these companies, he takes note of
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This paper critically analyzes Nike company sustainability strategy. Every investor or a group of investors wishes to see the business profitable at the current time as well as having good prospects for future (Werbach, 2009). For this reason, business sustainability strategy is very important. A strategy is a plan that guides the company or a business firm towards a certain direction or set goals. Thus, sustainability strategy is an action plan that a company set in order to maintain the plan toward the achievement of company’s goals in future. Sustainability strategy puts into consideration aspects such as the source of raw materials, competition, human resource development, and sustainability, and the general business environment. Thus, in evaluating a business’ sustainability, it is important to consider the business planning in this direction (Heslin and Ochoa 2008)
Sustainability is of considerable importance when viewing a corporation’s effort in social responsibility. Especially with the role that big businesses play in leading the way for social change, the expectations for Victoria’s Secret are high. This is one of the main concepts of the triple bottom line and Victoria’s Secret is a very large and successful company that appears to demonstrate an interest in being environmentally aware. However, they have room to improve, particularly in communicating these endeavors. To focus first on the good they have done as a company, Victoria Secret started to make the transition to applying green processes to the workplace when their parent company “L Brands” promised to refuse paper products sourced
Belz, F., & Peattie, K 2012, Sustainability marketing: a global perspective (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Stuart Hart, in a business article, discusses the tough task for companies to make a sustainable global ec...
Sustainable supply chains (SSC) are a process, which employ purchasing policies and procedures that assist sustainable development at the centers of tourism. This aspect of tourism is particularly vital to implementing feasible tour operator practices. The final tourist product featured in both glossy brochures and enticing websites must be considerate of viable sustainable supply chain management to create long lasting destinations for the consumer. This report will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of SSCs, and attempt to assess how SSCs are used as a popular management tool in the tourism industry. “Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) encapsulates the trend to use purchasing policies and practices to facilitate sustainable development at the tourist destination.” (Font and Tapper et al., 2008, pp. 260--271). To expand on this, there is an expectation that Supply Chain Management “emphasizes the logistics interactions that take place among the functions of marketing, logistics, and production within a firm and those interactions that take place between the legally separate firms within the product- flow channel.” (Pulevska-Ivanovska, L, 2007: 11) This definition encompasses the three main components of supply chain management: marketing, logistics and production. According to Dr Xavier Font, the tour operators’ product depends on 3 major sections: accommodation, transport and activities. (Font, X, 2011: 260) Supply chains vary depending on the nature of product and/or service. (‘UNEP’ 2013: 273) The diagram below illustrates the three main areas of impact: economy, society and environment.
Sustainable operation management is a management approach that involves planning, implementation and control of business operations that translate available resources into the required product or service. It is the management of business practices, traditions and operations to promote the highest level of efficiency, smooth workflow, and increased productivity in an organization. This management strategy ensures that the available labour force and materials are changed into products or services in a cost effective way to increase the company’s returns (Corbett, 2009). It also involves production waste management, food waste reduction, creating new opportunities, environment protection, and improving customer health. Sustainable operation management in the retail industry around the world has gained momentum in the recent years, in the face of customer pressure and media interest. It is particularly linked to the concepts of corporate social responsibility and global warming (Morrison, 2013).
In recent years, business or green business was no longer an option to become an obligation. Companies started to change their mindset and values to develop new environmental proposals, for example launching second ecological lines.
...e, L. (2012). Sustainable marketing and social media. Journal of Advertising , 41 (4), 69-84.