Sustainability is still a new concept in the Lebanese community. Since 2009, many initiatives took place to embed sustainability into businesses in Lebanon, by creating the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Lebanon website and by making annual international meetings since 2011 to discuss sustainability in practice and not only in theory. Lebanese banks have been implementing sustainability in their approaches, and they have been financing small businesses and start-ups to move into more sustainable practices. The last annual meeting took place in April 2016. As detailed in the report by Lacy and al., “A new era of sustainability: UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO study 2010,” while CEOs in the world are convinced, now, more than ever, of …show more content…
- With increased concern about education, health issues, climate change, depleting natural resources, and social development, a new corporation needs to tailor its operations to be as environmental friendly as possible and to tackle the needs of its customers and its employees by providing its employees with hand-on trainings and allowing them to grow financially, emotionally, and professionally. This is done by incorporating sustainability at the core of the business and not only as a peripheral choice. It needs to consider its customers as kings and to tailor its operations to tackle their needs and concerns.
- It also needs to collaborate and engage with the different players, investors, and governments since everything is interconnected and everyone has a role to play no matter how small that role seems.
- It needs to resort to new technologies because nothing can be done nowadays without using the internet, social media, computers, networks, green technology, etc… The use of information and communication technologies leverages the use of energy towards more efficient energy consumption. Social media connects people and businesses more easily and allows consumers to interact more efficiently with businesses.
While some challenges are
When talking about sustainability numerous people associate it with just protecting the environment. Sustainability is far more than going green, but it is a principle that many companies have adopted and have worked persistently to improve over the last several years. Sustainability is defined as the ability to continue a behavior indeterminately, but it also includes improving human life overall. Sustainable development is broken down into three pillars: economic, social, and environmental (Harich & Bangerter, 2014). Economics is the study of how people use resources, which correlates to the goal of sustainable development by using resources to their full potential (Laszlo, C., & Zhexembayeva, N., 2011, p. 60). Economic sustainable development allows companies to give their customers what they want without overusing mutual resources. Social development combines the social world with the physical realm to provide a good quality of life (Benoit, 2010, p. 7). Social sustainability focuses on the well-being of people and their communities. Environmental development, the most recognizable, includes protecting the environment by reducing pollution, recycling, switching of electronic devices when not in use, etc. All three of these pillars make up what is known as sustainable development. In this paper, I researched a company and their involvement in sustainability and how it applies to the
I. INTRODUCTION “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi The above quote rightly points out the role of environment for the mankind and the responsibility we need to shoulder for its sustenance. We've come a long way in recognizing that and now almost every business has a statute of doing something good for the environment as part of their CSR initiative. But companies who think of the environment as a social responsibility and not as an imperative are not going in the right direction. The global climate changes and the gradual scarcity of resources have come to light as major disruptions in the business environment. These challenges
Businesses who participate in environmentally friendly practices will become more profitable. There are difficulties and costs that a business will face and profit takes time but is proven to positively impact a business. “The reluctance to address the forces that are polluting the planet always comes down to money (Smith, “6 Reasons Nations Don't Go Green.”). Implementing environmentally friendly practices within a company “will win them customers, and increase profits” (McDonald, “Why Do (or Don’t) Companies Go Green?”). Many global companies today carry out environmental management tools to adapt to environmentally friendly practices, which helps gain customers, and in turn becomes more profitable. In this paper, I will go into further detail explaining why businesses should be more environmentally friendly, the benefits to be gained, costs that come with being environmentally friendly, and management ways that help a company become environmentally friendly.
Sustainability from a strategic business perspective is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all biological entities, as mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). Business sustainably is often defined as managing the triple bottom line – a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet. (Business sustainability definition from financial times lexicon, no date). This essay will discuss the idea of sustainability being an important element within a businesses and its core strategies and the importance of it within different businesses. Secondly, this study will look at how different stakeholders are affected and influenced by sustainability as this could be seen as a catalyst to improving the environment as a whole and. Then this study will look at how businesses not focusing
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.
Conducting business today is extremely energy-intensive, which has led to the depletion of our natural resources and degradation of the environment. My goal is to become a Sustainability Manager for a retail or consumer goods company whose sustainability goals are aligned with mine, such as Ikea or Nike. In the long-term, I hope to move up within the organization and become the Head of Sustainability.
As we have seen an increase in awareness around sustainability and climate change, with the help of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth documentary in 2006, we see organizations moving towards mitigating the effects of climate change in various ways (Al Gore, n.d). As this corporate social responsibility has become more prevalent, organizations are now pushing their green agenda by publishing sustainability reports, doing mass marketing and implementing sustainable business practices to portray the image that they too are working towards protecting the earth’s natural environment all the while focusing on their underlying goal of selling their products and
|[pic] |Syllabus | | |School of Business | | |MGT/360 Version 1 | | |Green and Sustainable Enterprise Management | Copyright © 2009, 2008 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course provides an overview of
Sustainability is defined as the ability to endure.(1) Though the idea of sustainability can be applied to most anything from a sustainable ecosystem that has survived thousands of years to a sustainable workplace that uses green technologies. Paul Hawken captured today’s connotation of sustainability in saying “Sustainability is about stabilizing the currently disruptive relationship between earth’s two most complex systems—human culture and the living world.” (2) There are countless ways to live, work, and produce sustainably. Sustainability not only needs to be practiced by citizens, but businesses need to join the green movement as well. Without creating, following, and enforcing green policies, negative effects will be evident and innumerable
Communication of the high need of sustainability goals to all members of the company, Everyone needs to understand and be committed to ensuring that the same is met.
He came with a vision of environmental sustainability.” Tyler explained that the company was wasting so much and was not an environmentally friendly corporation (para.1). Elm is now vice president of corporate and business sustainability. He stated, “Sustainability is strategy” (para.2). “Under the banner of corporate social responsibility (CSR)- the notion that business should have a moral conscience on social issues, and a concern for the needs of future generations when it comes to the environment” (para. 4).
The term “sustainability” is often used to represent environmental sustainability. In this paper I will discuss how the term is used when referring to a not-for-profit’s ability to sustain its existence. To do so I will explain the key challenges, as well as some of the overlooked and unexpected challenges within the not-for-profit sector. In order for a not-for-profit organization to succeed, according to the NewLevel Group, LLC’s journal called “Building Sustainability for Nonprofit Organizations,” the organization must “learn the critical elements of sustainability, determine where your organization is on the road to sustainability by completing an organizational effectiveness assessment, identify strategic planning priorities by exploring
The current study will support the need to create new, environmentally sustainable and socially responsive organisations, whilst enhancing company values (Closs, et al; 2011). Decision makers will develop a positive attitude towards sustainable development. It will present an opportunity for the organisation to be pro-active in discussing sustainability issues and it will also present an opportunity for the organisations to partner with
Sustainability has become a great topic of interest in many arenas. Particularly, leading organizations are recognizing sustainability needs to be an essential aspect of their long term strategies. With this recognition, better business practices are being sought by investors as well as sustainability is becoming a driving force for better efficiencies and innovation. Two organizations, Wal-Mart and Starbucks, have both took on sustainability as long term initiatives to address their customer needs and affect how their suppliers operate.
During the past 25 years, awareness of the environment has increased tremendously. Non-profit organizations look beyond institutional goals, and instead, try to find a shared vision that works for everyone in the society. Our society needs to stop consuming as if we have an infinite planet; we have to have integrity for the world we live in because the natural resources that have been sustaining us will not last forever. Companies need to evolve with the modern age and changing consumer market. For example, Netflix never thought they would produce their own shows, however, with the changing consumer market, they have done just that. Also, NGO’s sometimes have to partner with bigger for-profit companies in order to target a larger consumer base, thus, solidifying the fact that the for-profit and non-profit sector have to team together in order to sustain the environment in which we inhabit.