Sustainability is often defined as managing the triple bottom line. The triple bottom line is a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations, and opportunities. The triple bottom line is also referred to as the 3 P’s (profits, people and planet). Sustainability represents flexibility over time in that businesses create economic value, healthy ecosystems and strong communities. A sustainable business varies depending on the field. For example, in manufacturing, a sustainable business may include waste elimination and greenhouse gas reduction, whereas in retail, experts focus on ways to minimize waste in packaging and ways to facilitate energy use in stores. Sustainability has a variety of meanings. …show more content…
John Elkington, the founder of a British consultancy called SustainAbility, first coined the phrase in 1994. He argued that companies should be preparing three “bottom lines”. The first bottom line is the bottom line of the profit and loss account. The second bottom line is that of the company’s people account, which is a measure of how socially responsible an organization has been. The third bottom line Elkington stated is the company’s planet account, which is a measure of how environmentally responsible a company has been. That is where the three P’s come in. The triple bottom line consists of “people, profit and plant”. Producing a triple bottom line makes a company take account of the full cost involved when doing …show more content…
They include; cost savings, consumer demand, risk mitigation, leadership, tax incentives, employee retention, resource limitations, keeping up with the competition, new revenue opportunities and brand reputation and publicity. (Spector, 2012). A company could become more energy efficient and save billions in operating costs just by changing light bulbs or replacing old computers. Being more energy efficient can also attract new customers who care about the environment. Also, federal, state and local governments offer financial incentives taking part in environmentally responsible activities. Scarcity of natural resources is also increasing; this also means that cost is increasing as well. Which should be an incentive to protect the resources so they will be
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010). In Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy Achieving Sustainability, Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education.
Sustainability is one of the most controversial topics throughout the history, and as our society develop, we realize that being able to be sustainable is essential to survival of our race. The book Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Sustainability is a collection of articles on different side of various issues related to sustainability. In the book, Issue 8 discusses the ability of technology to deliver sustainability, and issue 16 and 17 discusses the sustainability of food and energy. While issue 16 and 17 are well-presented, the arguments in issue 8 are not very strong.
Whether an organization is domestic or international they have social responsibilities to the communities they operate within and to the shielding of the world. Caterpillar, Inc. is one such company that puts social responsibility at the top of their priorities. They have an abundance of engineers and technologists working on solutions to improve on sustainability. According to the 2012 Sustainability Report (2012), “at Caterpillar, we always ask ourselves, ‘What do our customers need? What does the world need?’ World Resources Institute (WRI) asks those same questions about the communities it serves, and truly delivers some amazing results” (p. 19).
Sustainability requires the interplay of other disciplines from the fields of science, economy, and social studies. The disciplines must function all together at a go, not in isolation. Once that is archived, sustainable development is also due to be archived. Philosophy is needed to be in practice in order to have an efficient way to approach sustainability. Mostly environmental sustainability is the one that is seen to be important, which includes the following aspects; water, energy, oil and other resources which are finite. The balance between the social, economic and environmental sectors yields sustainable development (Giddings et al., 2002). Sustainable development is classically defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without, in any way compromising the needs of future generations (IISD., 2003). Pragmatism requires us to predict, take actions and to be innovative in problem solving which is done through scientific research, this philosophy teaches us to be practical (Christopher., 2013).
Sustainability is an “enduring and balanced approach to economic activity, environmental responsibility and societal benefit”- Tata Steel. Sustainability is about meeting the ...
Under the business strategy of services, PwC will assist clients in identifying risks and opportunities with strategic sustainability goals in mind. They also provide guidance when developing strategies for change management, stakeholder engagement and reporting. They support and encourage organization to moving towards Sustainability 2.0 which “process that builds prosperous businesses creating innovative products and services; businesses founded on good financial results, responsible use of resources, and community well-being” (as cited by Albinson, 2011). Sustainability becomes a means for an organization to strategically change business processes, create new innovative products, and implement new updated technologies (steps to sustainability, 2011).
Sustainability is an issue that everyone should be concerned about. If the planet Earth is going to exist, as we know it, everyone should wake up and do their part to help achieve a greater level of sustainability. In my English 101 class we learned about the issue of sustainability. Many different topics were discussed and researched throughout the course of the semester. Overall, I think that the sustainability project has been a learning and enlightening experience for everyone in this class. Many more things can be done next semester, since the groundwork has been laid to continue this project for time to come.
Triple bottom line is defined as “a corporation’s ultimate success or health can and should be measured not just by the traditional financial bottom line, but also by its social/ethical and environmental performance” (Norman and MacDonald, 2003). There are many advantages when it comes to being a triple bottom line corporation. While incorporating the triple bottom line, you are also incorporating sustainability you’re your business. Therefore, becoming a triple bottom line corporation means it is one step higher towards helping save the planet. Becoming sustainable is cost efficient. Although it may cost a significant amount of money to convert, it will pay itself off in the long run. Additionally, it will help reduce expenses while saving
Thus, the main difference between environmental and non-environmental innovations is that the environmental problem is associated with external costs that do not enter the private costs of the polluter, so that the polluter has no incentive to adopt or invest in new technologies more beneficial to the environment. In fact, while social costs would be reduced by such innovation, private costs would increase. Only when the external (social) cost is translated into private cost through a public policy that regulates the environmental externality will the cost structure become more incentive-compatible, thus improving the likelihood of environmental innovations.
Sustainability of a business refers to the capability to stay in business, survive and perhaps thrive within the constraints or limitations imposed on it. A business and its performance is sometimes sustainable because of the favourable economic environment or because of some strategic advantage that other competitors do not have. Instead of having to deal with deeper aspects of management strategies, we will address two more apparent issues.
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).
Important companies like Shell, DuPont, BP have been reorganised to generate profits from this green market of goods and services. In this sense, it may sound altruistic, "the sustainability", the logic of profitability and competition is what will determine the ability of companies of the future to meet the changing needs of consumers. This premise of "sustainability" as a necessary quality to be competitive, falls short, according to Bryan Walsh of Time magazine. In a 2007 article, the expert shows how "sustainable" is helping to drive out competition, given the approach taken by companies to become more efficient, flexible and cutting waste, which helps them provide better products and reduce costs. Companies that refuse to accept that they will face a strict and demanding environment.
In addition to pursuing optimal balance between the three P’s, companies have a duty to ensure that the current quality of life can be guaranteed for future generations as well. This is emphasized by the fact that sustainability is at the core of Corporate Social
The future, it seems so far off; depending on one’s perspective, it is a week, a month or years. The future, from an environmental perspective is now. Changing behaviour in the present will set the world up for a better future. Understanding sustainability and what it means to be eco-literate is seemingly hard for some, which begs the question, when should ecologising education begin? This essay aims to summarise the extent of educating for a sustainable future and analyse how relevant it is. The concept of ecological literacy is explored along with its benefits and limitations. This essay was written from the viewpoint that everyone has a role in moving towards sustainability, beginning as early as early childhood.
Business sustainability consists of three components, these are: social, economic and environmental. The business has to consider these three components as the business must make a maximized profit (economic) but must not in any way damage the environment in the long term (environmental). The business must also take care of social issue and people and communities as they are support the business.