Sustainability Paper
Jennah Judd
Introduction: The world and Business environments are ever changing. More than ever, sustainability is the key to giving businesses a competitive advantage in today’s economy – not just financially but also socially and environmentally. Sustainability is defined by the World Commission on the Environment and Development as “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The key to sustainability is the concept of the Triple Bottom Line or the three P’s. The Triple Bottom line requires that a company not only be responsible for making a Profit, but also requires them to be considerate of the Planet and People (employees
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All H&M stores practice energy-efficiency. Use: H&M works to inspire their customers to care for the products they buy from them in a conscious and sustainable way (less washing, long lasting wear.) Training: H&M has conducted over 3,600 hours of sustainability training for their buyers and designers. In 2012 442,031 working in Bangladesh were trained on their rights. H&M has invested an estimated 9,000 days in training dedicated to their workers’ rights. Workers: 63% of employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. 2x973 store safety audits and 3,684 emergency evacuation sessions were carried out in their stores. 72% of their managers are women. H&M board members are split 50/50 for men and women. Climate Change: In 2011: CO2 emissions were cut by 5% by cutting air transport and improving energy efficiency in their stores. 80%+ of their supplies are transported by less carbon-intensive sea or rail transport. LED Lights used in all store and signs. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: H&M uses reusable transport boxes – saving 400,000 trees. They have started a Pilot Project to return worn garments to the store for recycling. Bags are made of 100% recycled material.
Natural Resources: Working with Greenpeace to lead industry towards zero emission of hazardous chemicals into the environment. In 2012 300 Million liters of water were saved on denim production alone. The use of sustainable cotton resulted in almost 3.5 million kg less
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.
TenTree has created a product with the positioning to give customers clothing options that are environmentally and socially responsible. They promise to plant ten trees for every item purchased and only use factories that are approved by WRAP. (TenTree, n.d.) They also have a large selection of t-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, tanks, hats, and toques, in a variety of different colours and sizes. (TenTree, n.d.) Satisfying the customer wants for a wide variety of socially and environmentally responsible clothing has created functional-instrumental value for their customers.
| * Johnlewis retailer of the year(11) * Produce less waste, conservewater,greener energy, reduce carbon emission(13)
Under Armour is most notable for its’ eco-friendly product line, “Catalyst”. “Catalyst” seeks to reduce waste in landfills and the production of fossil fuels by using one liter recycled water bottles to create these Under Armour Green performance products (Hollywood Productions, 2015). Under Armour desires to provide their customers with the high quality products they are known for while concurrently protecting the environment around them. Nevertheless, they don’t stop here as they continue finding innovative ways to be green through every facet of their
A triple bottom line model never merely quantifies an accomplishment or rather the wellbeing of a company through its conventional monetary bottom line. However, triple bottom line similarly measures social, ethical as well as environment performance of the company. Triple bottom line typically is an incessant process that shall assist the company in concentrating into the performance of a more sustainable business whereas demonstrating to local communities together with employees of that particular firm that is not merely looking forward on profit making, but similarly a greater common good for the company operations (Hitchcock and Willard, 2009).
In the book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Elizabeth Cline, a journalist and the author, writes about the lack of ability of disposal we currently possess for the massive amounts of textile waste. She wrote, “The rate of disposal is not keeping up with the availability of places to put everything that we're getting rid of and that's the problem." Millions of tons of textile waste are generated globally per year. There are many efforts to cut down the amount of waste by recycling, shredding, and exporting to developing nations. According to the United Nations, The US is the leading exporter of second-hand clothes. Very poor nations like India benefit greatly from imported second-hand clothing. These methods to cut back on textile waste are proven to work, but they don’t solve the problem, they just lessen it. Part of the problem with fast fashion and textile waste is that many of the clothes being mass produced are made out of cheap petroleum-based fibers. H&M received a lot of backlash for this, spurring them to release a more eco-friendly line of clothing, using organic cotton.
Secondly, Gap is investing in CSR to improve its operational efficiency. A major part of CSR is about energy reservation and environmental protection (Hollender and Visser, 2011). As a player in the apparel industry, Gap’s factories are consuming considerable gas, oil and electricity. Statistics show that in apparel industries, the wasting of these resources is quite common (Nevaer, 2010). The wasted energy and resource is not only a loss to the human kind, but would also incur unwanted operational costs for the cloth production in Gap, a practice with great harm to Gap’s operational efficiency. In this case, honoring the energy and resource
GoodWeave is an organization which Target partnered with that prevented child labor in the manufacturing of their own brand woven rugs. The GoodWeave organization is aiming to stop child labor in the carpet industry and to replicate its market-based approach in other sectors according to their mission statement. Target’s goal is to provide their guests with the assurance that their rugs are responsibly sourced through the GoodWeave organization. Target partnered with the Natural Defense Council on Clean by Design, their mission is to reduce environmental impacts of suppliers abroad. Target saved in water, energy and materials from pilots in Chinese apparel textile mills. When that started happening, the saving of materials and such convinced Target to explore how the reducing can be applied to home textiles in 2015. The last of the goals was EcoSet, 420 tons of waste was created from adverting shoots since 2009 and it’s time to act and save that waste.
A triple bottom line model never merely quantifies an accomplishment or rather the wellbeing of a company through its conventional monetary bottom line. However, triple bottom line similarly measures social, ethical as well as environment performance of the company. Triple bottom line typically is an incessant process that shall assist the company in concentrating into the performance of a more sustainable business whereas demonstrating to local communities together with employees of that particular firm that is not merely looking forward on profit making, but similarly a greater common good for the company operations (Hitchcock and Willard, 2009).
People are taking more and more consideration on environmental stuff. H&M has done quite well in sustainable improvements. (Activities about this are shown in the appendix.)
* Inbound logistic: One of the core values of H&M is the sustainability, and, thus, sustainability in production. The aim of H&M is to offer good quality fashion at the best price and to achieve it, H&M tries to avoid the waste. In this purpose, all the waste coming from the manufacturing, the transport and other sources are planned to be reused, recycled and reduced.(H&M, 2012)
Generations ahead of us only had a tiny wardrobe, where clothes were not washed every day. In our generation, fast fashion is in. It’s ok to have multiple shirts or shoes of the same color. It’s actually ok to throw away unwanted apparel. Apparel companies are beginning to focus on sustainable fashion, also known as eco fashion. Apparel, fashion, and textiles is the most polluting industry in the world. Every stage, that a garment goes through, uses up and threatens our resources.
ABSTRACT This paper contains a critical review of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which is one of strategy being adopted by businesses to address some of the challenges they confront in their external environment. This paper examines various arguments from proponents and critics of CSR. In addition, this paper examines the case of oil Multinational in Nigeria as way of ascertaining the validity of the different positions in the CSR debate.
H&M’s vision is that all their operations are run economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. They believe that affordable fashion with high quality can be produced and sold in a way that is both fair and sustainable to the
In today’s economy, sustainable entrepreneurship is a popular topic. Companies all over the world are trying to create a green image. A sustainable business has a positive impact on the global and local environment, community, society and economy, and focuses on the three P’s: People, Planet and Profit (Milieufocus, par. 3). The focus on pPeople looksstand for fair and beneficial business practices towards labor and the community and region in which a corporation conducts its business. Emphasis on the pPlanet