Sustainable Development and Businesses

For decades now, environmental, social, and economical issues have arisen in society and businesses. Only recently has the issues established extensive attention within society, sustainable development is acknowledged by the majority to mean ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (Commission 1987). This essay will look into the practices of ANZ as a sustainable business and examine their ecological, economic and social environments.

Sustainability is a concept that supports strong economic, environmental and social development within the business. Through this practice, the business will be able to have a comprehensive understanding of the importance of preserving these developments while growing. Since the introduction of sustainable development, global businesses have engaged themselves in this practice in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Aspects in which the practice is able to benefit the organisation is through financial, branding, environmental and employment factors.

Economic, environment and social are the three pillars of sustainability. The economic aspect focuses on the nature of the direction of the economy in which business operates. The people in the western world are heavy consumers. In fact, we consume far more than our fair share. Meanwhile, the people in developing countries are exploding in population and some are aspiring to have high-consumption lifestyles too. We need a sustainable economic model that ensures fair distribution and efficient allocation of our resources. This pillar ensures that our economic growth maintains a healthy balance with our ecosystem. The environmental aspect focuses ...

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...ood of St Laurence’s Given a Chance refugee employment program. This offers refugees with skills and experience to join ANZ’s workforce. The Diversity & Inclusion area make sure ANZ is socially sustainable making sure to make an inclusive and equal workplace.

ANZ’s last area Financial Inclusion & Capability concentrates on managing money for their customers, stakeholders and business to achieve economical sustainability. As a bank it is critical that ANZ have good money management. ANZ have money saving programs, policies and partnerships to confront these issues. ANZ encourage their customers to have good money management skills, helping them to understand how to use their financial products and services. This allows ANZ to build a great reputation and trust between internal stakeholders and customers, as a bank. A good example of this is ANZ’s MoneyMinded