Corporate Sustainability: Role of Solar Energy in Enhancing CSR

This essay explores the role of solar energy in enhancing corporate social responsibility and sustainability. It discusses the impact of solar power on sustainability and performance, challenges associated with corporate usage of solar energy, and the role of solar energy in improving corporate social responsibility. The essay also provides insights into sustainable electricity generation and the benefits of using solar panels for commercial enterprises.

Corporate
Sustainability

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Sustainable Electricity Generation..............................................................................................1
Role of solar energy in improving corporate social responsibility..............................................2
Impact of solar power on sustainability and performance...........................................................3
Challenges Associated with Corporate usage of solar energy.....................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Sustainability in business focuses on completing business operations in a way which does
not harm the environment, communities and society as a whole. There are many different ways
through which business sustainability can be achieved such as usage of green raw materials,
optimization of supply chain to lower carbon emission, using renewable energy and supporting
education of marginalized and vulnerable social groups. Implementing sustainability initiatives is
essential for building better public image, employee mind-set and investors valuation.
The purpose of this essay is to understand the ways in which solar power is being used
for enhancing sustainability through sustainable electricity generation. This is done by using
research on the topic from a news article, scientific paper and YouTube Clip. A main research
question and several sub questions have been framed to ensure that systematic investigation of
usage of solar energy for corporate social responsibility is done in this essay.
Main Question: What is the role of solar energy in development of sustainability and
green corporate social responsibility?
 How does Solar energy support sustainable electricity generation?
 What is the influence of solar energy usage on corporate social responsibility?
 What is the impact of solar energy on overall sustainability and performance of a firm?
 What are the drawbacks of using solar energy for improving corporate social responsibility?
Sustainable Electricity Generation
Corporates and consumers in the current age are looking for efficient energy sources
offering better solutions for any kind of power disruption and having positive impact on their
profitability. This is where the concept of sustainable electricity generation as a source of
sustainable energy comes from. Soon, electricity will become the premium source of energy
daily lives of consumers and corporates alike instead of gas and oil alternatives. This is because
unlike gas and oil alternatives, electricity generation can be made highly sustainable. In addition
to this in a few years, electricity will be used for supplying energy to most of the products
including cars as electric vehicles become commonplace in society. With this scenario in min
many businesses are looking solar sustainable electricity generation as their source for suitable
energy source offering efficiency, environmental-friendliness and ability to support bottom line.
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Sun acts as an effective source for generating solar electricity because it is present
throughout the day to charge up solar panels and store electric energy for full time commercial
usage at any company. Solar panels which are used for generating solar energy work on the
simple ideas, that when the sun’s rays land on the solar panel, they are converted into electricity
or stored for later usage by application by battery storage. This can happen even on gloomy and
rainy days so that the firm is able to work in a limitless and green manner without having to
worry about energy shortage. The implementation of solar panels for commercial electricity
generation has not only environmental advantages but also financial advantages in terms of
helping save expenses and improve revenue.
The chief financial benefit offered by usage of solar panels for sustainable electricity
generation is that it helps businesses save money on electricity bill. Solar panels can be attached
to any roof, workplace area, arena and warehouse to generate energy quickly and save tens of
thousands in terms of energy bills. In addition to this additional income can be generated through
the usage of solar panels. Extra electric energy generated by solar panels can be sold off to
consumers by using net metering. Another way through which solar panels offer commercial
enterprises financial advantage is the increase in long-term market value and marketability for
resale. This makes the idea of implementing an effective solar panel system for start-up
entrepreneurs as they can get better value for their commercial property in case dissolution by
installing solar panels.
The final advantage provided by solar panel usage is the preference given by
governments of various countries because of higher sustainability created by solar panels.
Governments are also realizing the value of sustainable energy generations and many have
implemented laws which can lead to tax benefits for businesses using sustainable energy through
solar panels. In this way sustainable electricity generation for solar panels is essential as it offers
variety of other benefits aside from better sustainability including increase in market value
resulting in higher profitability.
Role of solar energy in improving corporate social responsibility
The concept of corporate social responsibility in terms of daily production activities can
be done with the help of various practices including usage of solar panels. Microsoft is key
international technological company which has utilized solar panel technology for solving
sustainability problems and enhance the overall environment friendliness of the firm. As per the
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computer access corporate social responsibility program of Microsoft which provides computer
access to marginalized communities solar power was used. In this case, UNHCR camp which is
in Rwanda's Kibiza camp, was provided with on-going training of 800 computer literate certified
beneficiaries per year in an environment with safety a priority. To achieve this feat in the
backwards areas of the region solar panels were used. Two classrooms were powered by solar
panels, with a total of 44 low-powered computers with donated software under this Microsoft
CSR initiative. In this way the overall CSR objectives were accomplished by the firm in a
sustainable manner. Here the solar energy provided two advantages, the first being better
sustainability and the second being better connectivity for Wi Fi in the region so that the
computer access programme provides fruitful results on a long term basis. As of now UNHCR
and Microsoft have started expanding the program globally where there are now over 32 centres
operating in 12 countries (Sehgal & and et. al., 2020). This is all possible because of solar energy
and its sustainable solutions.
Impact of solar power on sustainability and performance
Corporate sustainability is an important part of corporate social responsibility because
consumers are becoming more aware about the ways in which their purchase decisions influence
and harm the environment. This has resulted in the rise of purpose driver consumers who are
basing their purchase decisions responsibly. Almost 79% off consumers make decisions of
purchasing products and services on the basis of responsibility, inclusivity and environmental
impact. This makes sustainability an important part of CSR. Many businesses have taken actions
and made claims regarding improvement of corporate sustainability in the contemporary
business environment. Often times it is seen that the claims made by businesses regarding their
corporate sustainability have limited to negligible impact on the environmental friendly nature of
the organization and are just inconsequential claims.
The usage of solar energy for fulfilling energy requirements can help businesses make
sustainability claims a reality and showcase the target audience their continuous efforts in
making a sustainable change in the world. Business can offer their stakeholders sustainable
outcomes impactful and straightforwardly through solar power. This is because solar is a clean
and green source of energy specifically electric energy where CO2 or any other greenhouse gases
are not released into the environment during its production processes. Reducing carbon footprint
with the help of solar power can help many businesses move beyond baseless corporate social
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responsibility claims to enhance sustainability. Solar energy system implementation are not one
time solution to achieving better sustainability and attaining corporate social responsibility but
have lifetime effect. Solar offers long-standing green advantages more than 20 years supporting
the corporate social responsibility strategy for the company for a long time period.
The solar array produces kilowatt hour energy which is one less than kilowatt hour
energy produced by utility which uses harmful and environmentally degrading fossil fuels
(Going Solar with Pivot Energy, 2021). Successful and competitive organizations have
prioritized usage of solar energy because it acts as a long term solution for tackling climate
change and show stakeholders stand out benefits to remain competitive. In this way the
consumers of the firm will be able to understand its dedication to deliver better sustainable
results like other international organizations such as Facebook and Version. This will support the
firm enhance profitability and popularity. In addition to this the final benefit provided by
investing in solar energy is that it reduces operational costs of the while simultaneously also
supporting in enhancement of sustainability.
Challenges Associated with Corporate usage of solar energy
The usage of solar panels for generating solar power is effective for sustainability of a
company. However it has many disadvantages such as the cost associated with reinstallation and
taking out the solar panels if the roofing needs up gradation or changes. This is physical
limitation associated with solar which can come up at any time because of roofing requirement
increasing the expenses of the organization momentarily. Therefore, the installation of solar
panel needs to be completed after taking into account the quality and life of the roof to avoid
expenses in the nearby future.
Relocation is another physical problem associated with usage of solar panels in a
commercial establishment. Although it increases the market value, the process of selling and
already established organization during relocation is time consuming. This means that the
company has to face laborious and time consuming tasks in context of relocation of any
enterprise which has attached solar panelling. The costs once again of relocating the solar panels
may burden the company financially. It is to be noted that the costs reduction offered by solar
power is not an overnight phenomenon but a gradual process just as its impact on the climate and
sustainability of the firm.
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There is also the problem of too much shade affecting the efficiency of solar panels and
harming the energy collection at the organization (Waller, 2022). Most metropolitan areas have
skyscrapers which may lead to shade impact of many number of establishment making energy
generation through solar panels difficult. Similarly excess of shading because of trees can also
lead to reduced solar energy production at the establishment. Digital assessments tool can also be
used to measure potential of solar energy generation in the area through solar panels and
understand if it is the most effective renewable energy solution on the basis of location.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay it is determined that sustainability plays an important role in
enhancing the corporate social responsibility of a company. The implementation of solar panels
to generate solar electricity is an effective option for improving sustainability and enhancing
corporate social responsibility activities of an organization. This supports sustainability while
also reducing business costs and supporting the bottom line. In addition to this, it is beneficial for
long-term sustainable growth of the firm. However there are certain downsides to using solar
energy for organizational sustainability improvement. This includes reinstallation costs when
changing roofing system and relocating along with the negative impact of shade on the ability of
energy production.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Sehgal & and et. al., (2020). Corporate social responsibility: A case study of Microsoft
Corporation. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Education (APJME), 3(1),
63-71. Doi: https://doi.org/10.32535/apjme.v3i1.744
Online
Going Solar with Pivot Energy, (2021, August 21). Corporate Sustainability and Solar Energy.
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfFk8HR7FjQ
Waller, J. (2022, Jan 31). How Solar Power Can Improve Your Business’ Bottom Line. Forbes
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/01/31/how-solar-
power-can-improve-your-business-bottom-line/?sh=3d360ebc257f>
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