ENGT5219 Engineering Business Environment

Running head: ANALYSING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
ANALYSING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
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1ANALYSING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
Introduction
Sustainable development recently has been identified as a development which attains the
needs of the present without negotiating the ability of potential generations to meet their own
needs. Sustainable development has continued to develop as that of safeguarding the resources of
the world. However the fundamental agenda is to regulate the world’s resources. The essence of
this type of development is a consistent association between human activities and the natural
world which does not reduce the prospects for future generations in order to enjoy the quality of
life [1]. The following paper will evaluate the effectiveness of approaches such as The Triple
Bottom Line, The Five Capitals, Natural Capitalism, Cradle to Cradle, Circular Economy and
Balanced Scorecard to sustainable development. In addition to this, the paper will focus on the
way Triple Bottom Line and Natural Capital can be used to evaluate the business domain of food
sector in terms of its environmental impact, its purpose and risks. Lastly, the paper will compare
two important approaches which will help Nestle to manage the clean growth.
Discussion
Approaches to sustainable development
Triple Bottom Line (TBL) - Sustainability in broader terms is attaining the needs of today
without compromising the competence of future generations in order to meet individualistic
needs. The Triple Bottom Line of sustainability tends to seek reduced environmental impact and
enhanced social impact. Sustainable organizations in order to balance their triple bottom line
need to create a universally proficient carbon market as a major influencer for sustainable
innovation, efficiency development and CO2 reduction across the world [2]. As recently, the UK
government is aiming to foster ‘clean growth’ for successfully delivering value to stakeholders
and consumers, several UK business firms can adopt ‘triple bottom line’ whereby they can

2ANALYSING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
equally as well as simultaneously value their three achievements in three major extents namely
people, planet and profit.
Natural capitalism- Reports by Biggs et al. (2015), have revealed that Natural Capital is making
the vision of a healthier environment which necessitates reliable governance along with robust
delivery outline with every citizen playing vital role. In correspondence with the UK’s clean
growth strategy, Natural Capital will ascertain equal distribution of environmental advantages,
resources and significant avenues. By using natural capital approach, UK business firms have the
potential to acquire improved and proficient decisions which can facilitate environmental
development.
The Five Capitals- Five Capitals model concerning natural, human, social, manufactured and
financial essentially aims to guarantee that all these capitals are well-executed in such a manner
that they can enhance over time. Though the five capitals model can be efficiently pursued by
business in the UK, there lays a dilemma to the extent the five capitals model can be suitable in
the context of clean growth as this model focuses on ‘capitals’ which are elements needed for
businesses to be able to deliver products and services.
Cradle to Cradle- This approach supports in using clean and renewable energy whereby living
organisms thriving on energy of current solar income must be safeguarded. The Cradle to Cradle
approach has immense potential to aid UK’s strategy of clean growth through the utilization of
clean and renewable energy through solar, wind along with other energy systems [3]. Thus by
capitalizing on such abundant resources sustainable organizations can support human and
environmental sustainability.
Circular Economy- Regardless to the environmental advantageous of circular models related to
significant decline in the use of virgin materials along with utilization of manufacturing by-

3ANALYSING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
products and abundant materials previously recognized as waste streams. However, Kates
(2018) has stated that circular economy can serve a resource-full substitute to the customary
linear ‘resource-depleting’ economic model of produce-consume-waste. As circular economy has
recently attracted considerable recognition in recent years it is well suitable for companies in the
UK who have been supporting the strategy for clean growth.
Balanced Scorecard- This approach according to Garnett et al. (2014), can be increasingly as an
efficient way companies can endorse, assess and benefit from sustainable development. However
the most significant benefit of implementing the balance scorecard will enable organization to
evaluate the contribution of sustainable development goals. As balanced scorecards do not
function independently, it is most effective as part of a broader strategic management
methodology and can distinctly be incorporated in organizations’ aiming for UK’s clean growth
strategy.
Value of Sustainable Development in Food Sector
Sustainability is an emerging megatrend which is immensely significant for businesses to
comprehend as well as implement into daily practices. The TBL of sustainability involves not
only seeking economic performance, but further taking into consideration environmental and
social impacts as well. Business organizations in food sectors especially the ones operating
breakfast cereal manufacturing with sustainability in their DNA possess a higher rate of chances
of achievements in comparison to companies which have to modify their practices. Yonglong et
al. (2015) have found that sustainable consumption has emerged as a fundamental objective and
one of the major factors of change for individual consumers aiming to serve their part in
protecting the planet. Furthermore, companies have been responded by bringing out new brand
and product introduction in line with vital sustainable interests [4]. It has been witnessed by