A Study of Sustainability

This report will review sustainability in the contemporary business environment as well as exploring why adopting green initiatives has become a competitive differentiator. Due to the global climate emergency, businesses have begun to explore more sustainable operations including; recycling, proper disposal of waste, engaging in responsible agricultural practice and zero plastic initiatives.

In a corporate environment sustainability is described as “the corporation’s role in minimising the destruction to, and maximising the preservation of, resources for future generations.” (Christensen, 2007, p.348). This urgency to preserve natural resources is reiterated urgently across the literature on sustainability management. Pope (2004) states that businesses have a responsibility to find “a way to live within the limits of natural systems.” (Pope, 2004, p.5). It is suggested that business operations and new projects should be monitored through Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Such measures will ensure that a business is behaving ethically and considering the environment in all operations across the company. Whilst this protects the environment it also improves brand image and creates a competitive edge in an external environment that demands responsible practice and transparency.

It is arguable that almost every industry has been impacted by the green movement, resulting in numerous businesses adopting green initiatives. UK based brands such as Lush and The Body Shop have been praised for their ethical, zero waste, sustainable initiatives. One of the main USPs of vegan brand, Love, Beauty & Planet, is that it uses “100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles” (Hughes, 2019). The fashion industry is another saturated market which faces constant criticism for wasteful operations. Frequent trend shifts “coupled with fast fashion culture encourages people to buy more clothes to update their looks more frequently at affordable price.” (Saicheua et al, 2012. p.295). Fashion retailer, Sunspel, highlights climate concerns through their 100% sustainable line of swim shorts made entirely from “plastic captured from the sea, preserving natural resources and reducing the waste in the planet’s water.” (Davies, 2020).

On a more global scale, Danish bioscience firm, Chr. Hanson Holding, was ranked number one on the Global 100 most sustainable companies of 2019. The firm uses “over 80% of its revenue developing natural solutions for preserving foods… protecting crops using natural bacteria instead of pesticides and alternatives to antibiotics for animals.” (Strauss, 2019). These strides taken by the bioscience industry directly feed into responsible agricultural practices which include reducing carbon footprints, growing locally and reducing meat consumption.

On the retail side of the food industry, American supermarket, Walmart, has created the Walmart Sustainability Index which “scores products based on how environmentally and socially sustainable they are.” (Orange, 2010, p.32) The index is designed to quiz suppliers on the ecological footprints of their products eventually revealing which products or suppliers do not align with sustainable behaviour and either halt business or find ways to improve their green effort. Interestingly, this case highlights how B2B transactions have been directly impacted in the operational process revealing how all stakeholders should be aware of sustainable practice.

“Investors as well as employees have the highest level of influence in CSR reporting transparency as stakeholders whilst environment presents the lowest one.” (Fernandez-Feijoo, 2014, p.60). In these findings Fernandez-Feijoo (2014) elaborates on how a business might employ sustainable initiatives based on their stakeholder’s agendas, suggesting that transparency through ethical practice is a stakeholder management strategy before it is a core moral obligation. This theory is supported thought an experiment conducted by Oberseder et al (2013). It was found that customers expected a business to “reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, prevent waste, recycle, dispose of waste correctly and invest in research and development regarding environmental protection.” (Oberseder et al, 2013, p.26). The contemporary consumer expects a business they patronise to align with their social ideals hence why so many organisations have been boycotted for a failure to adapt to the changing external environment.

This is the implication facing businesses who do not adapt and incorporate green initiatives. Exploring the implications of the triple bottom line, people, profit and the planet, Norman & MacDonald (2004) state that “the world’s financial markets will insist that business delivers against all three bottom lines….if not our stock price, our profits and entire business could suffer.” (Norman & MacDonald, 2004, p.3). The evidence shows that a business cannot survive in the contemporary environment without adopting green initiatives since it simply will not retain the support of its stakeholders. It in itself is no longer sustainable.

Whilst the initiatives can be costly to implement, they do offer leaner operations, reduced waste and improved resource productivity, “it results in reduced costs and therefore positively contributes to the financial bottom line.” (Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008, p.210). The key with implementing these changes is to focus on the long-term health of the business and the planet.

The key benefits to adoption of sustainable practice focus on three areas. Adapting to a change in societal expectations, preservation of the planet and profitability through maintaining a competitive advantage and reducing waste by improving efficiency.

Green initiatives have exploded over recent years in an effort to preserve the planet and its natural resources, one of the most popular methods at the moment is plant-based eating and veganism. “Converting grass into (meat) is like converting coal into energy it comes with an immense cost in emissions.” (Petter, 2018). Including increased energy consumption, raising livestock has created many issues for the environment including polluting water, contributing to greenhouse gases and population issues.

To accommodate this change in consumer demand different industries will adapt in different ways. The agricultural industry will see a dramatic decrease in meat consumption and demand for livestock, but a massive increase in vegetable and meat alternative such as soy. The hospitality industry including cafes and restaurants will offer plant-based menus and options, which will also drive down costs since vegan diets are less expensive than meat diets. Even fashion and furniture retailers will have to incorporate vegan products into their mix to stay relevant, this will exclude fur, leather and wool. Essentially, businesses will have to adapt to accommodate the changes of the environmentally conscious, vegan consumer or consumer attitudes will shift organically due to a rise in vegan companies domineering the food industry.

The plant-based trend will also encourage cooking shows, books, blogs and online recipes to incorporate vegan or vegetarian alternatives. Moving forward, many people who want to be environmentally conscious but have made the decision to reduce their meat consumption will look for meat alternatives, resulting in an increase in experimental cooking with tofu, soy, Quorn and cauliflower.

References

Christensen, L.J., Peirce, E., Hartman, L.P., Hoffman, W.M. and Carrier, J., 2007. Ethics, CSR, and sustainability education in the Financial Times top 50 global business schools: Baseline data and future research directions. Journal of Business Ethics, 73(4).

Davies, 2020. ‘Best sustainable fashion brands every GQ reader should know’. GQ. Available at: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/sustainable-fashion-brands-uk Accessed on: 10 April 2020

Fernandez-Feijoo, B., Romero, S. and Ruiz, S., 2014. Effect of stakeholders’ pressure on transparency of sustainability reports within the GRI framework. Journal of business ethics, 122(1).

Hughes, S. 2019. ‘Sali Hughes 40 best sustainable beauty brands’. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/sep/14/sali-hughes-40-best-sustainable-beauty-brands Accessed on 10 April 2020

Norman, W. and MacDonald, C., 2004. Getting to the bottom of “triple bottom line”. Business ethics quarterly, 14(2).

Öberseder, M., Schlegelmilch, B.B. and Murphy, P.E., 2013. CSR practices and consumer perceptions. Journal of Business Research, 66(10).

Orange, E. and Cohen, A.M., 2010. From eco-friendly to eco-intelligent. The Futurist, 44(5).

Petter, O. 2018. ‘Veganism is ‘Single Biggest Way’ To Reduce Our Environmental Impact On Planet, Study Finds’. Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a83786 Accessed on: 17 April 2020

Pope, J., Annandale, D. and Morrison-Saunders, A., 2004. Conceptualising sustainability assessment. Environmental impact assessment review, 24(6).

Saicheua, V., Knox, A. and Cooper, T., 2012, June. Sustainability in clothing supply chain: Implications for marketing. In Proceedings of the 37th annual macromarketing conference.

Strauss, K. 2019. ‘The Most Sustainable Companies In 2019’ Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2019/01/22/the-most-sustainable-companies-in-2019/#784af3306d7d Accessed on: 10 April 2020

Stubbs, W. and Cocklin, C., 2008. Teaching sustainability to business students: shifting mindsets. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.