Businesses Must Take A Sustainable Growth And Value Creation That Meets A Triple Bottom Line

Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of

Bertrand Piccard quotes, “In the 21st century, the heroes will be the people who will improve the quality of life, fight poverty and introduce more sustainability. This is a powerful message, it sums up the concepts discussed throughout the course. Additionally, the case studies such as the New Belgium Brewery, SC Johnson and The Kimberly Clarke organization have been proven to practice this philosophy. As society progresses in its efforts to provide a more sustainable future, there is a fundamental foundation of principles that must be followed to ensure success. Sustainable business development takes into account the application of business operations as it relates to the three pillars of sustainability, which is a dynamic yet integrative place to begin this journey. DesJardins, (2006) calls for a re-imagination of the future to create a vibrant sustainable model; which forms similar beliefs to Piccard. In addition, organizations are more inclined to create sustainable practices based on consumer demand and the willingness of leadership to participate in sustainability programs.

In the article, “The Filth They Breath in China,” author, Michael Auslin, discusses the health concerns that citizens in China are forced to face, and how the country put itself in that position. China positioned the importance of its economic success, above the health of its people. The air quality has reached a state where people are urged to stay inside in order to avoid the dense smog. Also, industries have dumped an immense amount of waste into water sources, causing them to be unsafe for public use. These extreme living conditions should catch the eye of those living in the United States, in order to prevent the same from happening to them.

To a regular person, the global concern about ‘going green’ might appear as a result of speculation from nervous politicians and alarmed citizens. But the reality is totally different. In recent years, businesses have gained much knowledge about the impact of their activities on environment and in turns their customers. Businesses are successively venturing to earn greater revenues. In this process, they are trying out every best possibility to entice their contributors- from customers to investors. Regardless to say, stakeholders these days are more socially responsible than ever. So to keep up to their expectations, businesses are also trying to expand or limit their activities to save the environment- from doing relentless research on lowering waste to lean management and even trying out various eco-friendly activities. Despite of all these, the ultimate question remains unanswered if it is financially beneficial to adapt those initiatives that is going to serve the

One of China’s best successes has in turn been one of its biggest downfalls. One of the main problems is China’s greatest success which has been its phenomenal economic growth. This is one of the main drivers of the current environmental problems that the country faces. Factories dump pollutants into the air and water. It is difficult to see the Chinese government making the significant sacrifices required to improve their environment if it means slowing down their economic growth.

Nowadays, many international companies take sustainable development seriously. They understand that sustainable development can enhance their quality of life and their reputation in public. Sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (Brundtland, 1987) Sustainability requires monitoring and managing all the person to ensure that our economy and society can continue to exist without destroying the social and natural environment during development. The sustainability includes three pillars, which are economic, social and environment, forming a triple bottom line. The triple bottom line demands that a company 's responsibility lies

As we can see , environmental challenges in recent years have increased the trend of “going green” in businesses like never before. There are two main factors that are currently pushing toward environmental-friendly business practices, harsher international and local regulations, and the high fluctuations of fossil-fuel prices.

The competitive environment in today’s business world poses many dangers to the sustainability of the biosphere, which is so vital to life. Business organizations have a responsibility to help sustain and preserve the environment for future generations. Corporations must take initiative in developing business plans that incorporate sustainable business practices into the strategic direction of the organization. Successful achievement of a sustainable business plan also requires identification of barriers to implementation and development of strategies to overcome such barriers. In addition, to

All countries want go have growth and often aim to be a Westernized such as the United States or more specifically like New York and London. A city like Beijing is pretty developed and has a “similar” lifestyle as New Yorkers, however there are still significant differences such as the value in taking care of the environment. Pollution has always been a big issue in big cities, but the Western world has noticed that pollution has a bigger impact than just the weather, but it also affects the economy as well. Asian megacities like Beijing have not yet noticed how much of an impact that pollution can cause. The city of Beijing has been haunted by natural hazards such as droughts, floods, and earthquakes (Beckel,

China’s increasingly steady growth has impacted the environment negatively as economic growth is normally at the expense of environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability is the maintenance of renewable resource, pollution creation and non-renewable resource depletion that contributes to the quality of environment on a long-term basis. The environmental performance index ranked Australia 3rd whereas China is far behind on the list, being ranked 188th out of 195 countries. China being ranked heavily low is due to the massive produce of carbon dioxide emissions and pollution from factories, which eventually reduces the production of inputs into the natural environment, and thus represents waste and inefficiency. China does not have

In today’s business world, sustainability can make all the difference in the world. According to Tomson (2015), “sustainability has become an economic and strategic imperative with the potential to create opportunities and risks for businesses by creating new customer relationships, and inspiring new products and business models that drive growth. Consequently, companies that are, or aspire to be, leaders in sustainability are often challenged by rising public expectations, increasing technological innovation, continuous quality improvement, effective governance measures, high standards of ethics and integrity, and heightened social and environmental challenges” (p.1).

The people of China enjoy the assets of a flourishing economy but they also are suffering from the price that is being paid on the environment and specifically air pollution in their country due to the cities and the housing of people and the materials that are being used

China has overtaken Germany as the world’s top exporter of goods, which marks another breakthrough in China’s rise to the top and its ever growing economic influence. As China’s export rates rise to the highest in the world, so does its pollution. Judith Shapiro, the director of the Masters in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development for the School of International Service at American University, states that with “20 of the World’s 30 most polluted cities [residing] in China” it is an easy task to see the severity of pollution (Sharpiro). In order to rise to its high economic position China’s government ignores pollution regulations, allowing the release of waste into the air and

One of China’s main goals is to achieve and maintain a harmonious socialist society by 2020. This is an ambition not easily obtained. Public outrage and lessening opinions of the government are growing in China reflected by the increasing number of public disturbances and riots. The police and military are quick to respond highlighting China’s poor human rights record. Pollution too is a major problem in China with 16 out of the world’s 20 most polluted cities being China. Over 700,000 deaths are attributed annually to pollution. Although China is moving towards better environmental sustainability, two thirds of its energy comes from coal sources currently and every dollar of GDP uses three times more energy than the global average.

Sustainability can be defined as ‘Adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future.’ (Labuschagne, et al., 2005) This essay will look at sustainability with the view of the triple bottom line, which is in some ways expressed in this definition with ‘human and natural resources’. By looking at the triple bottom line as concept developed by John Elkington, and cited by many scholars, the essay will look at the importance of each of the three elements (economic, social and environmental impact) to business.