Corporate Sustainability

This document discusses the concept of corporate sustainability and its importance in the modern business world. It explores the sustainability position of Pro Bono, a social purpose business venture in Australia, and the sustainability reporting issues it faces. The document also provides a sustainability strategy proposal for Pro Bono.

Running head: CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Overview of Pro Bono...............................................................................................................3
Pro Bono’s current sustainability position.................................................................................4
Sustainability Reporting Issues..................................................................................................7
Sustainability Strategy Proposal................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
As opined by Camilleri (2015), the concept of sustainability had become the catch-
phrase of the modern business world and the resultant effect of this is that the business firms
rather than focusing on the aspect of profitability or higher financial returns are focusing on
the aspect of sustainability. Cho et al. (2015) are of the viewpoint that the notion of
sustainability can be defined as the ability or the capability of a business firm to maintain a
certain level of growth without causing the over-exploitation or the depletion of the natural
resources of the planet. This becomes especially important from the fact that the natural
resources of the planet are fast depleting and if no effective measures are being taken to
reduce the ecological footprinting of the business firms then it is likely that no significant
resources would be left for the coming generation (Zappettini & Unerman, 2016).
Furthermore, the concept that the business enterprises need to take accountability for their
business activities and thereby create economic, social and environmental values for their
stakeholders through their business activities had gained prominence in the present times
(Alhaddi, 2015). The resultant effect of this is that the firms are trying to modify their
business activities so as to take into account these factors within the framework of their
business operations (Schaltegger, Etxeberria & Ortas, 2017). In this regard, it needs to be said
that the business firms for the attainment of sustainability are not only taking into account the
concept of triple bottom line approach to sustainability but also the measure of corporate
social responsibility, the legislations or the regulations of the national governments of the
nations in which they are operational and others. This report will evaluate the sustainability
position of the firm Pro Bono, the sustainability reporting issues that it is presently facing in
the nation of Australia and its related aspects.

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Overview of Pro Bono
Pro Bono, founded by Karen Mahlab in Australia, is a social purpose business venture
which had been established taking into account the responsibility of the business firms to
contribute in a meaningful manner towards the society, economy and the environmental
development of Australia and its stakeholders (Probonoaustralia.com.au, 2019). In this
context, it needs to be said that Karen Mahlab prior to the establishment of the business firm
under discussion had an experience of 10 years working in the publication industry
(Probonoaustralia.com.au, 2019). She had used this past experience of working in the
corporate sector for the establishment of the business venture, named, Pro Bono, which
intends to improve the societal as well as the economic condition of the nation of Australia
through the usage of different kinds of internet polls, surveys, interviews and others
(Probonoaustralia.com.au, 2019). It is pertinent to note that the concerned firm on a regular
basis conducts online interviews, surveys, polls and others on the important social or business
concepts or issues and thereby tries the show the public opinion regarding the same.
The primary objective of these polls, interviews, surveys and others is to show the
important decision makers the opinion of the people and also the kind of changes that they
expect for the improvement of not only the quality of life that they lead but also of the entire
nation of Australia itself (Probonoaustralia.com.au, 2019). Needless to say, the results of
these polls, surveys, interviews and others over the years have significantly influenced the
decisions made by the key decision makers and also the business firms in the nation of
Australia and thereby promulgated the much-needed change within the framework of the
nation under discussion. On the score of these aspects and also the kind of business activities
that the concerned firm takes the help of it can be said that the mission of the firm Pro Bono
is to bring a social, environmental and economic change in the nation of Australia by creating
value for their stakeholders. More importantly, it is seen that within the framework of its

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workplace the concerned firm tries to take the help of the notions of kindness, ethics, morals
and others so as to match the kind of business services that they offer and also to motivate the
employees to work in an effective manner for the attainment of the firm’s mission, goals and
objectives (Probonoaustralia.com.au, 2019).
Pro Bono’s current sustainability position
As per Mckinsey.com (2019), more than 50% of the top management employees and
also the business firms to which they are associated agreed with the idea that the firms need
to take into account the aspect of sustainability so as to create social, economic as well as
environmental values for their stakeholders. Del Mar Alonso-Almeida et al. (2015) have
articulated the viewpoint that this becomes especially important from the perspective of the
contemporary business firms because of the dynamicity or the changing nature of the modern
business world. The resultant effect of this is that the business firms are increasingly taking
the help of the concept of sustainability to adjust to the requirements of the ever-changing
external business environment of their operation and thereby to attain a long-term growth and
profitability (Bellantuono, Pontrandolfo & Scozzi, 2016). More importantly, as stated by
Pérez‐López, Moreno‐Romero and Barkemeyer (2015), the long-term usage of the construct
of sustainability not only enables the business firms to earn a higher amount of financial
returns and also create adequate value for their stakeholders but at the same time enables
them to attain competitive advantage within the business market of their operation. Recent
researches have clearly revealed the fact that taking into account the concept of sustainability
helps the firms to reduce their ecological footprinting and also thereby conduct their
operations in conjunction with the stipulations or regulations or legislations of the national
governments of the nations of their operation (Manes-Rossi et al., 2018). The below given
figure highlights some of the major reasons why it is important for the business firms to take
into account the aspect of sustainability-

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Figure 1: Reasons which propel the business firms to take into account the aspect of
sustainability
Source: Mckinsey.com, 2019
The business firm Pro Bono belongs to the consultancy industry of Australia and
within a very short period of time because of its extensive focus on offering benefits to the
stakeholders have attained a significant amount of success. Reimsbach and Hahn (2015) have
articulated the viewpoint that the consultancy industry is primarily concerned with offering
strategic, management, operational, marketing and other kinds of consultancy advices to the
business firms on the basis of their present situation or condition. In this regard, it needs to be
said that the emergence of the concerned industry can be traced back to the later half of the
19th century when the business firms started to look for help from the other firms for the
resolution of the problems or the issues that they faced or for the further improvement of the
prospects of their business (Moneva & Hernández-Pajares, 2018). However, in the present
times it is seen that the consultancy industry had become one of the most thriving industries

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of the world and the annual profitability generated by the concerned industry every year
varies from $100 billion to $300 billion which is expected to increase in the coming years
(Morioka, Evans & de Carvalho, 2016). However, sustainability is one of the key issues that
the concerned industry is presently facing and this in turn is likely to adversely affect the
profitability as well as the long-term growth of the concerned industry.
The national government of Australia over the years had formulated different kinds of
guidelines, legislations, regulations and other kinds of measures that the business firms
operational in Australia including the ones like Pro Bono related to the consultancy industry
are required to follow (Humanservices.gov.au, 2019). Some of the most important ones in
this regard are “Environmental reporting under Section 516A of the EPBC Act”,
“Environment Protection Act 1993”, “Fair Work Policy” and others (Business.gov.au, 2019).
In addition to these, it is seen that the Australian government had given kinds of mandates
that the firms are required to follow like the usage of “Sustainable procurement”,
“Environmental management systems (EMS)”, effective waste management and energy
conservation system, reduction in the amount of greenhouse gas emission and others
(Environment.gov.au, 2019). More importantly, the national government of Australian had
stipulated different regulations related to the society and also the business market that the
Australian firms are required to follow and on the effectiveness with which the firms follow
these policies they either given license or permit to conduct business in the concerned nation
or strict action is being taken against them (Humanservices.gov.au, 2019).
In the particular context of the business firm Pro Bono, it is seen that although the
firm adheres to the major social as well as the market sustainability stipulations of the
Australian government yet at the same time no effective policies or measures have been
designed by the concerned firm for attaining environmental sustainability. For example, the
firm under discussion here is effectively contribute towards the social development of

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Australia by influencing the key policy makers regarding the decisions that they make.
However, the failure of the concerned firm to comply with the different above-mentioned
environmental stipulations had placed the firm at a disadvantage. More importantly, it had
been seen that the firm ever since its foundation had been trying to follow the concept of
triple bottom line approach to sustainability and thereby create value for its stakeholders and
also contribute in a meaningful manner towards the social, environmental and economic
development of Australia (Probonoaustralia.com.au, 2019). However, at the same time it
needs to be said that the failure of the concerned firm to take into account the environmental
dimension of the triple bottom line approach to sustainability and also to come up with
adequate corporate social responsibility policies had significantly reduced the sustainability
position of the concerned firm.
Sustainability Reporting Issues
Ehnert et al. (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the concept of sustainability
reporting can be defined as the process through which the different business firms prepare an
organisational report which in turn highlights the readers regarding the social, economic and
environmental performance of the concerned firms. This is important because of the fact that
it not only enables the firms to cascade relevant information regarding their performance in
these aspects but at the same time in a succinct manner highlights the issues with their
performance in these aspects (Manes-Rossi et al., 2018). In this regard, it needs to be said that
the business firms within the framework of their business operations are required to follow
the ten commandments of the UN Global Compact so as to create adequate value for their
stakeholders. In the particular context of the firm Pro Bono it needs to be mentioned the
concerned firm complies in a succinct manner with the social and economic principles of the
UN Global Compact and there are no sustainability reporting issues in these aspects.
However, the major sustainability reporting issues that the firm under discussion here faces

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are on the score of the environmental principles of the concerned Compact. For example,
some of the most important principles of the UN Global Compact related to environment are-
 Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
(Unglobalcompact.org, 2019)
 Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility
(Unglobalcompact.org, 2019)
 Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
(Unglobalcompact.org, 2019)
It is pertinent to note that these three are the major sustainability reporting issues that the
firm under discussion here is presently facing and these in turn is adversely affecting the
present as well as the future prospects of the concerned firm. This even becomes apparent
from the fact that the annual sustainability report of the concerned firm mentions practically
nothing regarding the environmental performance of the firm or for that matter regarding the
measures that the firm is taking for contributing in an effective manner towards the
environment and the improvement of its condition. More importantly, the failure of the firm
to take into account these principles of the UN are creating a pressure on the environment and
thereby adversely affecting the limited amount of resources that the planet has. Thus, it can
be said that the firm under discussion here in order to attain long-term growth or
sustainability and also to address the future sustainability issues that it is likely to face would
have to take into account these three principles of the UN Global Compact related to the
aspect of environment and thereby contribute in a meaning manner towards the environment.
More importantly, by effectively taking into account these three principles, the firm under
discussion here would be able to use the triple bottom line approach to sustainability and
thereby attain not only competitive advantage but also sustainability as well.

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Sustainability Strategy Proposal
Pro Bono in order to attain a certain minimal level of growth and also for the
attainment of sustainability would not only have to comply with the local and national
regulations of the national government of Australia and also the different principles of the
UN Global Compact. This is important since it will enable the firm under discussion here to
effectively contribute towards the society, environment and economy of Australia and
thereby attain sustainability as per the triple bottom approach to sustainability. Thus, the firm
Pro Bono would have to take the help of different kinds of measures for addressing the
environmental performance issues that it is presently facing and thereby attain competitive
advantage as well as sustainability within the business market of Australia. Cho et al. (2015)
have articulated the viewpoint that one of the most important measures that the different
business firms can use for addressing the environmental performance issues that they are
facing is framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is pertinent to note that
through the effective usage of the framework of CSR measures or policies the business firms
can effectively address the different kinds of environmental issues that the environment is
presently facing (Camilleri, 2015). Thus, it is likely that the firm Pro Bono through the usage
of CSR would be able to address different kinds of environmental issues that the world is
presently facing. More importantly, this would enable the firm under discussion here to
address the environmental related principles of the UN Global Compact and thereby attain
sustainability.
Another important measure that the concerned firm can use for the attainment of
sustainability and also for the purpose of contributing in a meaningful manner towards the
environment is the process of creating awareness among the individuals regarding the
dangers presented by environment problems or issues (Del Mar Alonso-Almeida et al., 2015).
In this regard, it needs to be said that the concerned firm can create awareness among the

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different individuals through the usage of effective polls, interviews, surveys and others
which in turn will help it to influence the decision makers to make the kind of decisions that
would be beneficial from the perspective of the environment. In addition to these, another
important measure through the firm under discussion here can contribute in an effective
manner towards the environmental development for the attainment of sustainability while
following the guidelines of the Australian environmental legislations and also the principles
of UN Global Compact is by way of its energy usage reduction, use of recyclable plastics and
other similar kinds of products which are environment friendly and others. Some of the other
important measures that the concerned firm can use for effectively using the framework of
the triple bottom line approach to sustainability and thereby for the purpose of the attainment
of sustainability are by the reduction of its ecological footprinting or for that matter reducing
the amount of resources that it requires for the purpose of its business activities, use of solar
energy rather than non-renewable sources of energy and others (Manes-Rossi et al., 2018). It
is pertinent to note that the effective usage of these measures is likely to help the firm under
discussion here to overcome the sustainability reporting issues that it is presently facing and
thereby attain not only long-term growth but at the same time competitive advantage as well
as sustainability within the consultancy industry of Australia as well.
Conclusion
To conclude, the change undergone by the modern business world becomes apparent
from the fact that the present-day business rather than focusing on the aspect of financial
returns or profitability are focusing more on the aspect of sustainability as well as long-term
growth. This is important because of the fact that the natural resources of the planet that the
business firms require on the score of their business activities are fast depleting and thus it
has become all the more important for the firms to focus on long-term growth and
sustainability rather than short-term growth as well as profitability. Furthermore, the business

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firms for the attainment of the stage of sustainability are required to effective follow the triple
bottom line approach to sustainability and thereby create value for the stakeholders who are
associated with them by contributing in a meaningful manner towards the environmental,
societal and economic growth of the nations in which they are operational. More importantly,
the firms for the attainment of sustainability also need to address the sustainability reporting
issues that they face while taking into account the different stipulations or the regulations of
the national government of the nation of their operation and also the ones given by the UN
both at the global and the local level. In this regard, usage of the framework of corporate
social responsibility, reducing ecological footprinting, creating awareness among the people
regarding the environmental issues and others are some of the viable options that the business
firms can use not only for the purpose of contributing in a meaning manner towards the
environment but also for the attainment of sustainability as well. These aspects of the concept
of corporate sustainability become apparent from the above analysis of the business firm Pro
Bono and its sustainability reporting issues.

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