Corporate Sustainability Management Article 2022

Corporate Sustainability Management
Characteristics of a 3rd Wave Organization
According to the article ‘Organizational change for corporate sustainability’, the 3rd Wave organizations
are referred to as the business entity, that considers the tenets of human and ecological
sustainability while performing in the market.
The goals of these highly focused corporations are inclined towards developing environmental
responsibility through circular economy approach. They believe in creating strong supply chains
through a resilience strategy that supports people and communities. In order to
achieve the goals, strategic actions are put-in-place. Developing active stakeholder
relationships with a variety of community groups or Stakeholder Capital is one such strong strategic
move.
The writers emphasize that with strategies and goals in place for these
organizations, the structure and system of these organization must also be in-line.
Therefore, the third wave requires to perform a reimagining of the interrelationships, at root
levels, between an organization and its stakeholders and enhancing the stakeholder-accountability
process.
The authors also identify various stakeholders for the third wave organizations. They include primary
stakeholders like customers, owners, financiers, employees and suppliers, and
secondary stakeholders which are influenced by or influences the firm, like
government, the local community or society, activist groups or NGOs, future
generations and nature.
The third wave signifies the enlarged corporate responsibility and affirmative
relationship with people. Along with people, these organizations ensure that resources are recycled
in a cost-effective manner or returned to the environment in a ecology friendly form, or through some
other mode which will help restore the balance enrich the environment where it is damaged. The
production approach is also modified at the design phase itself by transforming the initial design of
products, considering the choice of environmentally friendly, nonpolluting materials and designing out
waste.
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