Corporate Sustainability and Triple Bottom Line Concepts

I feel that business organizations are facing various challenges regarding incorporating sustainability in their company and according to me the various challenges can be in the form of: Measuring and reporting sustainability- As opined by Kiron, Kruschwitz, Rubel, Reeves & Fuisz-Kehrbach (2014) as a result of proliferations of rankings of sustainability and standards of reporting, businesses needs to know in context of streamlining their reporting for sustainability in order to lower reporting costs.

Running head: BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET

BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET
This writing is based on my knowledge regarding sustainability and triple bottom line concepts
and focuses on the issues which are faced by companies regarding implementation of
sustainability practices in their company. This writing provides an idea of the various forms of
business capitals and provides an account of various sustainability approach phases which
according to me can be adopted by business organizations.
Reflection
Based on the lectures that I had attended in the class and based on my secondary research I can
say that the triple bottom line (TBL) can be considered as one of the most important technique
which can be used by business organizations to analyse the profits that they are making through
their businesses by virtue of their corporate sustainability solutions. As stated by Ruzzier, Petek
& Ruzzier (2015) the TBL directs to look beyond the usual bottom line of business to the profits
which businesses make socially, environmentally and economically. Measuring businesses
through the TBL are perceived as one of the most effective and best indicators of how
sustainable businesses actually are and how profitable are our businesses.
I feel that business organizations are facing various challenges regarding incorporating
sustainability in their company and according to me the various challenges can be in the form of:
Measuring and reporting sustainability- As opined by Kiron, Kruschwitz, Rubel, Reeves &
Fuisz-Kehrbach (2014) as a result of proliferations of rankings of sustainability and standards of
reporting, businesses needs to know in context of streamlining their reporting for sustainability in
order to lower reporting redundancy, inconsistencies and accordingly creating an impact which is
positive in nature.
Collaborating for sustainability- As stated by Maniora (2018) most of the sustainability issues of
businesses requires systematic changes and the process of systematic changes requires
collaboration with all of the stakeholders of businesses and therefore in my opinion businesses
requires speaking with a single voice with competitors and the other stakeholders who are
affected by businesses in order to tackle sustainability.
Creation of a long term orientation- According to Shields & Shelleman (2015) the dynamic
financial markets, the unstable purchasing patterns of the customers, change in trade agreements
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BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET
and inconsistent public policies make it very difficult for companies to act for a long term and
therefore in my opinion the businesses needs to find a way in order to reconcile short term as
well as long term perspectives..
Based on the class learning on concepts of sustainability, I can identify six forms of capitals
which are used by businesses and they are as follows:
Internal Economic capital- in my view the internal economic capital includes capital such as
funds available including the debt and equity finance of the company which are financial in
nature and also capital such as the value of the brand which are non-financial in nature.
External economic capital- As opined by Hahn & Reimsbach (2014) the external economic
capital considers the impact which an organization exerts on capital, both financial and non-
financial in nature of separate bodies such as a new factory which may decrease or increase value
of nearby real estates.
Natural capital- based on my learning I can say that natural capital are sources of natural
resources like soil, water etc and some of these natural capital gives people with free
goods/services called ecosystem service like clean water and fertile soil which supports the
foundation of economy, society and makes human existence possible. This as per my view is add
on to economic capital as some of the natural capital enables production of other resources that
are offered through natural environment.
Human capital- in my view the human capital comprises of skills, experiences, knowledge
health, attitudes and individual motivation.
Social and relationship capital- Based on my learning I can say that the social and relationship
capital comprises of teams, networks and group of individuals who work collectively which also
includes intellectual capital which are shared.
Constructed capital- as per my knowledge the constructed capital comprises of material objects,
systems, ecosystems which are made and used by humans.
Based on my secondary research regarding sustainability I can say that the phases of business
approaches towards sustainability are:
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BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET
Rejection- in my understanding the rejection strategy demonstrates a view of the society,
employee and nature which is exploitative in nature. In this phase the ultimate aim of the
organizations is to earn profit. In this phase I feel that the pressures regarding sustainability are
always declined by organizations.
Non-responsiveness- Based on my knowledge I can say that the non-responsiveness strategy is
based more over ignorance of sustainability issues. I feel that, in this phase, environmental and
community related issues are ignored whenever possible and in this phase sustainability related
actions and strategies are perceived as an un-necessary costs.
Compliance- as per my knowledge the compliance strategy focuses on the reduction of risks
which arises due to failure to meet quality standards. In this phase, focus is diverted to those
issues of sustainability which possesses highest litigation risks. In this phase I feel that strict
restrictions on various issues which are social and environmental in nature are mostly opposed
with any action call by organizations which are created within a self-regulatory approach which
is voluntary in nature.
Efficiency- In my opinion the efficiency strategy shows a greater understanding regarding
practices which are sustainable in nature. In this stage an organization mostly focuses on
efficiency and the consequence cost savings advantages to the organization.
Strategic proactivity- I feel that in the strategic proactivity stage, sustainability transforms as a
core organizational strategy and the main focus of an organization in this phase remains to gain
competitive advantage and profitability which are long term in nature from various initiatives
regarding to sustainability within the company.
Sustaining corporation- As stated by Pashaei Kamali et al. (2014) in the sustaining corporation
stage the sustainability values remain fully internalized within an organization and the
organization actively follows ecological renewal, social equity and welfare of human resources
at the industrial, social and political levels. In this stage, an organization values people and the
nature for their own sake and benefits.
There are various examples of businesses which I can recall who have successfully engaged in
sustainability business such as Fair Harbor, an apparel company which manufactures sustainable
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BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET
men’s swimwear. The company produces each pair of men’s boardshorts and swim trunks from
11 recycled plastic bottles which are sourced from mass recycling facilities all round the world.
Another example of such business which I can recall is Paladino and Company, which is a
sustainability consulting firm, who have found an ideal way to make a significant and positive
environmental impact by helping other companies in reducing their carbon footprint and as
buildings account for more than 40% of carbon emission, the company works with other
architects, designers, developers and companies who aim to create a significant difference to the
environment through their real estate.
Based on the above writing I can state that though businesses are paying attention towards
incorporating sustainability practices in their organization they are facing various challenges
which are intersecting with their sustainability approaches. Therefore I strongly feel that
businesses must focus on developing an alternative approach in order to promote sustainability in
their organizations.
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BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET
References
Hahn, R., & Reimsbach, D. (2014). Are we on track with sustainability literacy? Journal of
Global Responsibility, 5(1), 55-67. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JGR-12-2013-0016
Kiron, D., Kruschwitz, N., Rubel, H., Reeves, M., & Fuisz-Kehrbach, S. (2014). Sustainability
next frontier. MIT Sloan Management Review, 55(2), 1-25. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1475566525?accountid=30552
Maniora, J. (2018). Mismanagement of sustainability: What business strategy makes the
difference? empirical evidence from the USA. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(4), 931-
947. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3819-0
Pashaei Kamali, F., Meuwissen, M. P., M., De Boer, I. J., , M., Stolz, H., . . . , M. (2014).
Identifying sustainability issues for soymeal and beef production chains. Journal of
Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 27(6), 949-965.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10806-014-9510-2
Ruzzier, M. K., Petek, N., & Ruzzier, M. (2015). Incorporating sustainability in branding: I feel
Slovenia. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 12(1), 7-21. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1691586283?accountid=30552
Shields, J., & Shelleman, J. M. (2015). INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO SME
STRATEGY. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 25(2), 59-75. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1733170172?accountid=30552
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