SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS.

Running head: SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS
SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS: A CASE STUDY OF APPLE
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SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS1
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the business activities of Apple..................................................................................2
Overview of the concept of Sustainability.......................................................................................3
Importance of the usage of ethics for the attainment of sustainability............................................4
Analysis of the enterprise Apple on the basis of the concepts of sustainability and ethics.............5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
As opined by Davies (2016), the primary focus of the contemporary business enterprises
is on the enhancement of the financial returns earned by them and for the attainment of this end
the business enterprises are trying to enhance their productivity. Hansen et al. (2015) are of the
viewpoint that the major problem arises because of the fact that the business enterprises in order
to enhance their productivity and thereby their profitability are depleting the natural resources of
the planet at an alarming rate. For example, it is seen that the rate at which the different business
enterprises are using the natural resources of the planet for the manufacture of the products or
services offered by them to the customers it is likely that the future generations will not have
access to the same resources (Ben-Amar, Chang and McIlkenny 2017). In the light of these
aspects, it can be said that it had become important for the enterprises to take into account the
concepts of sustainability and ethics for the rational usage of the natural resources of the planet.
This paper will explore the concept of sustainability and the usage of ethics by the business
enterprises through the usage of the case study of the enterprise Apple.
Overview of the business activities of Apple
The enterprise Apple Inc was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne
in the year 1976 (Apple.com 2019). The concerned enterprise is an American multinational
technology-based enterprise based in California and is reputed for the plethora of hardware and
software that it offers to the customers (Apple.com 2019). For example, it is seen that the
enterprise under discussion here offers operating system to the customers along with different
varieties of hardware like mother-board, smartphones and others. As a matter of fact, it is seen
that the concerned enterprise is often regarded to be a part of the ‘big four technology-based

SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS3
enterprises of the world’ along with Facebook, Amazon and Google (Apple.com 2019). More
importantly, the enterprise while being one of the largest technology-based enterprises of the
world is also one of the most reputed brands of the world as well (Apple.com 2019). In addition
to these, it had been seen that the enterprise in the present times as part of its planetary
responsibility is trying to reduce its ecological footprinting by reducing the amount of natural
resources used by it for the manufacture of the products or the services that it offers to the
customers (Purkayastha and Samad 2015). Thus, various kinds of measures have been
undertaken by the enterprise under discussion here in the recent times like initiatives to become a
greener company, reduce the amount of harmful emissions caused by it, usage of recent as well
as innovative technologies for the improvement of the nature of products or services offered by it
so as to reduce the pressure caused by it to the environment through its business activities and
others. In this regard, it needs to be said that the effective usage of these measures or initiatives
have not only helped the concerned enterprise in the recent times to reduce its ecological
footprinting but at the same time to become one of the most valued brands of the world as well.
Overview of the concept of Sustainability
Markman et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the concept of sustainability had become
an important one in the particular context of the business activities which are presently being
used by the different business enterprises. As discussed by Johnson and Schaltegger (2016),
sustainability refers to the process through which the business enterprises are being able to attain
certain minimum level of growth without causing the over-utilization or the over-exploitation of
the natural resources of the planet. On the other hand, Ferrell and Fraedrich (2015) have noted
that the concept of sustainability requires the enterprises to optimally utilize the limited resources
that they have at their disposal so as to reduce their ecological footprinting in the best possible