Gender, Ethics and Sustainability

This report assesses the sustainability practices of Timberwell Constructions, focusing on economic, environmental, and social sustainability. It discusses the financial implications of climate change, incidents of corruption, and non-compliance with environmental laws. It also covers energy consumption, impacts on biodiversity, and social sustainability measures.

Running head: GENDER, ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Gender, Ethics and Sustainability
Name of the Student:
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1GENDER, ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Discussion..........................................................................................................................3
A. Economic Sustainability....................................................................................................3
 Disclosure 201-2 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to
climate change....................................................................................................................3
 Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken.....................4
 Disclosure 206-1 Legal actions for anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust, and
monopoly practices............................................................................................................5
B. Environmental Sustainability............................................................................................5
 Disclosure 302-1 Energy consumption within the organisation..................................6
 Disclosure 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on
biodiversity.........................................................................................................................6
 Disclosure 307-1 Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations............7
C. Social Sustainability..........................................................................................................7
 Disclosure 401-1 New employee hires and employee turnover..................................7
 Disclosure 406-1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken................8
 Disclosure 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact
assessments, and development programs...........................................................................8
3. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................10

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1. Introduction
Organisations always seeks for a long term growth. Sustainable activities and
practices play a great role in ensuring the long term growth and success of every organisation,
be it small or large (Cohen 2017). Economic, environmental and social sustainability is
considered to be the three main pillars of sustainability that every organisations is required to
take into consideration for ensuring that their objectives and goals are met (Mota et al. 2015).
This report is going to elaborate on assessing the sustainability practices of the case study
organization, Timberwell Constructions, a residential development company by taking into
consideration the consolidates sets of the sustainability reporting GRI (Global Reporting
Initiative) standards.
2. Discussion
A. Economic Sustainability
For managing its economic sustainability problems, Timberwell Construction has used
the approach of continuous improvement. Its approach towards economic sustainability is
highly integrated in its key business along with its strategies. The company is focused on the
creation of a sustainable value for all its involved stakeholders. It has aligned its economic
sustainability by means of conduction environmental assessments so that the negative
impacts on the environment could be reduced.
 Disclosure 201-2 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate
change
It is to note that Timberwell Constructions is facing certain risks and opportunities in
regards of environmental sustainability. From the given case study, it is clear that the
company was once fined for its operations that resulted in endangered ecological community
coastal grasslands. It cleared up the area that destroyed the attributes of the surrounding

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plants, trees and animals and the environment as a whole. Furthermore, it is also to note that
the company is facing with a financial implications of abiding by the Stanwell Council in its
proposed amendments to its Local Environmental Plan (Sunderland and Butterworth 2016).
The council, as a response to the alarming influence of the climatic change as well as the
risks of bushfires have again reformed and replaced some of the areas in the district as being
bushfire prone areas. Any kind of developments in these areas are needed to meet the higher
standards of bushfire safety and this comprise of larger distance within the land boundaries
and the buildings as well as making use of the building resources that are highly fire
retardant. It is to mention that Timberwell Construction is complying the LEP that is set for
taking effect in six weeks in terms of the risk of bushfires. Furthermore, it is also claimed that
the economic fallout for the company in implementing or even following the set requirements
would be 4 million dollars. The company is required to set the financial resources along with
the other type of resources for protecting the environment as well as for ensuring
sustainability. At a total cost of 50,000 dollars, Timberwell Construction has been involved
with an external town planning. It is focusing on decreasing the LEP requirement costs.
 Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken
In terms of incidents of corruptions, it is to note that Timberwell Construction has faced
some incidents of corruptions (Higuero, Higuero and Brsendorff 2019). There has been
several complaints by the employees put forward to State Corruption Commission and this
has led to public corruption vases that involved 5 employees and 2 business partners of
Timberwell Construction. All these 7 stakeholders of the company were charged with the
activities of corruption. It is to mention that Timberwell Construction do take the activities
and incidents of corruption very seriously and as a response to these actions, the firm has
sued all the 5 of its employees without paying their salaries. With the same, it has also
terminated its partnership with those business partners who were engaged in the case. It no

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longer involves with the partners and suppliers who are unethical. At present, the firm is
focused at developing ethical work relationships with all its stakeholders and have also
undertaken some decisive actions while dealing with its business partners and employees who
were been accused of the actions of corruption so that it can ensure good and ethical
practices.
 Disclosure 206-1 Legal actions for anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust, and monopoly
practices
The case study depicts that Timberwell Construction has faced many legal actions
throughout its operation. There is an ongoing case that is launched against it by the ACCC at
the Federal Court (Pert, Chen and Carvosso 2018). In this case, the company is accused of an
anti-competitive conduct. One of the employees of the company has filed a complaint to
ACCC. Also, Bellantuono, one of the organisations in Australia has also filed similar case
against it with the Federal Court where Timberwell Constructions has again been accused of
anti-competitive conduct in terms of misusing the market power (Grimmer 2018). ACCC has
accused the same after hearing from the local builders that they had plans for starting a
competing development firm, the top management of the company has threatened the
contractors and suppliers not to get into the business with the new development company, or
else, Timberwell Construction will decrease or even withdraw their business. The company
was accused of the same with the intention of preventing the entry of the new players in the
market of development within the district of Stanwell and reducing the level of competition
present in the market.
B. Environmental Sustainability
It is to note that Timberwell Construction undertakes a system approach towards
environmental sustainability by taking into consideration the whole systems. It involves in

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reviewing all its actions and their impacts on the environment. For example, the company
reviews its rate of energy consumption within the industry and at the same time, assess how
its actions are affecting the bio diversity.
 Disclosure 302-1 Energy consumption within the organisation
As seen from the given case study it can be stated that Timberwell Construction has
media released that depicts that the company in highly energy efficient. There is an attached
table on its total energy consumption. According to the given table, the total fuel
consumption of the company from its non-renewable sources is 1.0 Gigajoules, the fuel
consumption from renewable sources is 0.5 Gigajoules and the total electricity consumption
of the company is 2.0 Gigajoules. It is indicating that the company is using appropriate
calculation tools as it is recommended by the Australian department of Science and Industry.
With the same, it is also to mention that the company depends on the high consumption of
non-renewable sources of energy by means of implementing the environmental program. This
is why it can be said that Timberwell Construction is following all the set environmental rules
and regulations.
 Disclosure 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity
It is to note that Timberwell Construction has a site at the Ofrord Park. About 60% of the
site is covered with wallum sedge frogs. The proposed development by the company will
provide site inconsistency along with the survival of the wallum sedge frogs. Timberwell
Construction is working effectively with Stanwell Council as well as many other
environmental groups for developing a strategy for the management of the proposed
development of the Oftord Park and the conservation of these frogs that are very rare. It is
also to mention that the company is undertaking this action for conserving and managing the
land as well as the natural resources by means of having conservation and biodiversity

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management plan in place. With the same, the company is also undertaking an EIA
(Environmental Impact Assessment) that reveals about its conservation efforts for the Otford
Park to conserve the wallum sedge frogs.
 Disclosure 307-1 Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations
It is to mention that Timberwell Construction is fined about 200,000 dollars for clearance
of 0.45 hectares of the critically endangered ecological community coastal grasslands and is
also ordered for reviewing its plan of vegetation management as well as to extend its audit
program for the contractors as well as to implement a plan of rehabilitation for about 440,000
dollars. With the same, the company has also used many types of mechanisms for conflict
resolution to ensure compliance.
C. Social Sustainability
Social sustainability has always been a key element for ensuring that a company is
attaining an approach of holistic sustainability (Bennett, James and Klinkers 2017). It is to
mention that Timberwell Constructions makes use of the approach of corporate responsibility
management for meeting its goal of social sustainability. According to Porter and Kramer
(2019), activities of a company and its infrastructure lead towards significant cultural, social,
environmental and economic effects on the local communities. It is the responsibility of the
organisations to anticipate and reduce the negative results and impacts of it on the
environment by means of taking engagement and identification process with the stakeholders
that assist it in understanding the needs and the vulnerabilities of local communities.
 Disclosure 401-1 New employee hires and employee turnover
There are a total of 58 male staffs in Timberwell Construction who have different
professions and trades with the highly competitive local market that results in new hiring of
candidates and employee turnover. It has employed about 12 new employees but at the same

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time, 17 employees have left the organisation and either started their own business or have
joined its rival companies. The proportion of new hires in the company is 20.6%, whereas
that of the employee turnover is 29.3%. This is mainly due to the fact that the employees
working in the organisation are undergoing uncertainty and at the same time, are dissatisfied
with the company.
 Disclosure 406-1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken
From the case study, it has been identified that at Timberwell Construction, an employee
has launched a compliant with the Fair Work Commission against the company on the basis
of improper behaviour and discrimination on the basis of age within the workplace. The very
employee has reported that he was the only worker who was older than 50 years and the
remaining are in between 30 and 50. This is why, he was often been the target of humiliation
and age based jokes from the part of the other employees. For the same, this employee was
compensates and the company was required to look actively and in control (Forsyth et al.
2017). The corrective actions that Timberwell took in this regard is that it updated its policy
of antidiscrimination and has implemented anti-discrimination training for all its employees
for avoiding such things in the near future.
 Disclosure 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and
development programs
It is to note that Timberwell Construction have many programs and initiatives that are
intended on the community engagement and participation, development and initiative
programs and assessment of the impacts (Green 2018). The company gets involved with the
local communities very effectively by means of conducting some local resident meetings and
some local community development programs that are on the basis of the requirement and
demand of the community for the affordable social housing. With the same, it is also worth

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mentioning that Timberwell Construction is also working with the Stanwell Council and is
complying with the amendments on the LEP. It is basically in response to the global
warming, the bushfires in the development site as well as the other changes prevailing in the
climate.
3. Conclusion
Hence, from the above analysis it is to conclude that the performance of Timberwell
Construction is deteriorated in context to the profit that are generated as well as the high rate
of its employee turnover. The remaining are in line with the growth. However, this
deterioration is mainly because of its incompliance with the standard of the sustainability
reporting that should be in accordance to the GRI. As per the case study, it has been
identified that Timberwell Construction has also been involved in certain corruption
practices, anti-competitive actions, workplace discrimination actions and anti-monopolist
actions that have resulted in the violation of such acts. All these as a whole has impacted the
company’s operations and hence, it is recommended that Timberwell Construction should
have proper disclosure that are in line with the principles of GRI. It should make some strict
and serious adherence for complying with diverse sustainability standards and requirements.

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References:
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Cohen, E., 2017. Employee training and development. In CSR for HR (pp. 153-162).
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Forsyth, A., Howe, J., Gahan, P. and Landau, I., 2017. Establishing the Right to Bargain
Collectively in Australia and the UK: Are Majority Support Determinations under Australia’s
Fair Work Act a More Effective Form of Union Recognition?. Industrial Law Journal, 46(3),
pp.335-365.

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