Alibaba Group Sustainability

Running Head: ALIBABA 0
Alibaba Group
Sustainability
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In China, Alibaba Group is a multinational corporation working in retail, technology,
e-commerce and internet in the marketplaces for sellers and buyers established by Jack Ma.
The company is hosting Aibaba.com as B2B, Tmall as B2C and Taobao as C2C across the
globe. Alibaba Group works with over 24,000 employees from above 240 counties among
36.7 million users approximately. Moreover, the company provides around 5,900 product
categories in online business also aiming to be the biggest IPO (D'onfro, 2014). The mission
of the company is making business easy to do at any place by providing necessary tools
globally to the customers and helping them to find products. Also, the company wants
suppliers to work efficiently and quickly for maintaining position in the market. Alibaba
integrates sustainability continuously through managing and improving processes to add
value and pursue growth instead of only focusing on reputation of the company.
Sustainability is concerned about employee’s motivation and retention, saving energy, and
green products development helping the company to capture return on capital and growth
value (Wright, 2014). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implemented by UN for
achieving better and more sustainable future by 2030 addressing global challenges. In this
essay, the discussion over characteristics of sustainable corporation in relation to Alibaba
Group considering United Nations (UN) Sustainability Goals.
Further, companies and society face the challenges linked to environmental
degradation, poverty, peace and justice, climate change, and inequality. Among all the 17
goals, Alibaba works on 16 of them that are inter-connected as well. The UN member states
adopted this agenda to provide prosperity and peace for individuals and the planet (Biermann,
Kanie, & Kim, 2017). In sustainability, the issues are related to climate, water, urbanization,
energy, science and technology, oceans, and transport. The commitment is done by Alibaba
to its stakeholders performing activities to fulfil their interests for outcomes in the company
and better operational performance. In Alibaba Group, these goals affect the results and
require development to balance environmental, social and economic sustainability. Thus,
achievement of such goals needs company to aim targets through financial resources,
creativity, technology and knowledge from overall society (Costanza, Fioramonti, &
Kubiszewski, 2016). Other than reputation, the company concentrates on reducing energy use
in and waste from operations, corporate reputation and capturing trends portfolio
management for an in sustainability, regulatory response to opportunities or constraints,
emission from operations reduction, and R&D resources commitment to products
sustainability. Also, leverage to existing products sustainability for reaching new markets or

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customers, impact management of products all through the value chain, employee motivation
and retention improvement linked to activities of sustainability, greater market share or
higher prices achievement from sustainable products, and operational risk mitigation linked
to change in climate (Cramer, Park, Olson, & Best, 2018).
According to the ESG Report of Alibaba, the issues considers business model and
culture based on sustainability that are related to human capital, environmental impact, data
protection, corporate governance, social impact, cyber-security, and intellectual property
rights protection. The characteristics of sustainable corporation are a new social contact,
focusing on human and ecological sustainability, value-based and purposive action, business
models reinvention, and building strategy into culture (ESG Report, 2018). Here, new social
contract will bring new relationships and demands for the company in relation to
environmental resources and sustainability issues. It requires making changes, and delivering
opportunities and responsibilities linked to representation of sustainable business practices.
Alibaba’s business model tries to captures, creates and delivers the value online that needs to
be successful commercially and ready for the future while being the part of the future in
various ways (Chen, You, & Lv, 2019). It is essential to attract with the society and making
sure about environmental responsibilities for the company to follow recognizing long-term
impacts on environment and society with its risks management and strategic planning
processes. The company requires maintaining the transparency for better sustainable
performance with effectiveness and long-term prosperity. Moreover, taking care of
stakeholders’’ interests for leading change in a successful way is also essential while making
economic, financial, and environmental performance better in terms of sustainability. In
sustainability, it is vital for keeping everyone safe, happy and healthy while appreciating,
enhancing and protecting environment by minimising damage through business (Mcintire,
2015). Further, sustainability generates employment opportunities in the economy while
rewarding working and improved lives.
In society, the creation of sustainability involves enhancement and protection of the
environment by using water, energy and other natural resources with care and efficiently.
Also, it involves minimising waste while reusing or recovering it with composting, recycling
or energy recovery. In case of environment, restricting pollution so for not damaging natural
systems is also important with protecting and valuing nature’s diversity. Moreover, social
factors consists of enhancing and creating buildings and places for making it work well with
protecting and valuing diversity strengthening cultural identity and local community