Essay on Sustainability and Integrated Reporting

Woolworths is the largest supermarket/grocery store chain in Australia, owned by Woolworths Limited. It is the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand by market capitalization and sales. Along with Coles, Woolworths form a near duopoly of Australian supermarkets, together accounting for about 80% of the Australian market. Woolworths currently operates 933 Woolworths stores across Australia.

This report examines the new world of sustainability reporting, and the complex web of stakeholders. It focuses particularly on the demands for new kinds of transparency which serve the interests of the environment and society.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the sustainability practices of two companies in the same industry. The two companies chosen for comparison are The Hershey Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises, both of which are in the consumer staples industry. These two corporations are ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, on the Newsweek Top Green Companies in the U.S 2015. They have taken pride in creating sustainable product designs, having environmentally sustainable processes and supply chain management.

One point of view says that we should invest in the environment because it will increase our reputation among other things resulting in increased sales. Another point of view is to not invest in sustainability and since consumers gravitate towards the best products and the best prices, which a team could develop, then sustainability is just an unneeded expense. As a team we feel that there should a balance of both investing in sustainable business practices and turning a profit. This strategy can be seen when we turned a $4,600,257 profit in quarter six while investing in seven conscious

Melting glaciers, depleting water resources and decreasing air quality needs immediate attention. Everyone needs air and water to survive. Business started practicing sustainable accounting in mid-70. This practice discloses non-financial and financial information related to the business activities that has direct impact on society and its environment (air, water, people etc.). Companies use triple bottom line method to calculate the impact of business activities on society and based on these calculation companies makes policies which make its operation more ecologically and socially

It is the execution of strategies and policies through programs, budgets and procedures to reach its goals. In this process plans are assigned, costs are allocated to tasks for better measurement of return on investment. The firm’s resources are used and a detailed system is given on how to perform specific jobs. This strategy turns strategies into concrete results and helps implement changes that are documented for future references. It also provides good measurements of projects with a time frame. It gives employees a clear step by step on how to perform their day-to-day tasks that will improve overall efficiency and sets the tone for quality work in all levels of management.

The methods used in completing this report entails studying and analyzing of the mentioned sources and encompassing reports from the company focusing on the sustainability of the company.

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

This definition is almost identical to that of the Brundtland Report’s view on global sustainability. Many organizations and corporations have since then embedded the Brundtland Report’s concepts of sustainability and sustainable development, whether it’s for genuine care for the world or the desire to increase positive publicity to consumers. But the process of determining and implementing the definition can be tricky as many struggle with twisting around the term with its broad and interpretable definition. Many arguments have surrounded the issue of when a company releases its sustainable development progress to the stakeholders, they will reap many advantages that are not usually associated with releasing this soft of data in an annual financial

In the world today, companies are working hard to change the way that they run their businesses. Out of various different companies and business, one company that seemed to have a great deal of consideration towards social responsibility was Aldi. The purpose of this paper is to describe what corporate social responsibility is, the history of Aldi, and the approach Aldi takes towards sustainability and how they are a sustainable business. Also, what their future goals are, achievements they have made, and how they plan to invest in new technology to further their corporate social responsibility.

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.

Over the past few decades, sustainable business practices have become more prevalent and required in corporations. Australian organisations are required to be responsible for being sustainable socially, economically and environmentally, here we focus on the environmental factors. Australia’s government is constantly coming up

Intro: This report will aim to define responsible business, in relation to the vast range of topics such as Corporate social Responsibility/Corporate Citizenship, sustainability, whilst comparing these through academia and their different meanings relating to Responsible Business. Furthermore, this report will also aim to critically analyse climate change and its effect in relation to making Business more responsible as well as the drawbacks/opportunities this holds for business. Finally, this report will exploit the relation between government and Business; identify possible barriers for businesses through government via academic views and evidential impacts on businesses and how government supports business to create a more sustainable world, through incentives such as the climate change Act 2008.