Individual Report: Sustainability, Business Success, and Advantage

This individual report delves into the critical concept of business sustainability, also known as corporate sustainability, and its profound impact on long-term competitive advantages for organizations. The report examines the multifaceted nature of sustainability, encompassing human, social, economic, and environmental pillars, with illustrative examples from companies like Unilever and Tesco. It critically discusses the attributes and capabilities essential for business success in a complex and ever-changing environment, highlighting the significance of leadership skills, understanding and embracing change, and leveraging technology. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of corporate social responsibility in achieving sustainable business practices and generating growth opportunities by adapting to environmental changes. This report, with its analysis of sustainability's impact on business strategies, offers valuable insights for students studying business development.

Individual Report
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3

MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Critically discuss the concept of sustainability and its impact on long term competitive
advantages for organisations. Use examples to illustrate your discussion.................................3
Critically discuss attributes and capabilities that are necessary for business success in a
complex and changing environment...........................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES:...............................................................................................................................8
Books and Journals.....................................................................................................................8
Online..........................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Business sustainability also refers as corporate sustainability, it includes terms like
management and coordination of environmental, social and financial orders and responsibility,
ethical and current success concerns of business organisation (Bansal and Et. AL., 2022).
Sustainability means achieving own needs without making any compromise with needs of future
generations (Bellucci, Bini and Giunta, 2020). Business can look for paper suppliers, that can be
used in their products through recycled papers to maintain companies printing and mailing
requirements. Through using recycled materials company can save paper and can contribute to
environmental responsibility. Developing sustainable business refers to adopting new strategies
and activities that could help them achieve their goals while protecting and enhancing human
and natural resources that will be needed in future for new generations (Correa-Garcia and Et.
AL., 2020). This report includes the different concepts of sustainability with its impact on
competitive market. It also evaluates the various strategies and statics used for business
successful in dynamic and compound environment.
MAIN BODY
TASK
Critically discuss the concept of sustainability and its impact on long term competitive
advantages for organisations. Use examples to illustrate your discussion.
Corporate sustainability has become a catch phrase in companies whether it is small or
large organisation. Concept of sustainability is fast growing factor among investors and
stakeholder not only for profit generation but also for good social cause (Cosenz, Rodrigues and
Rosati, 2020).

Concept of sustainability has different areas like human, social, economic, and environmental
pillars. Some of these pillars explain below with help of examples -
1. Human Pillars – This pillar directs company to maintain and improve human capital in
society. Development of human sustainability is idea that provides societies must live
and meet their needs without making any compromises in ability of future generations.
Human relay on natural resources for business activities like production and marketing
and ignoring this human sustainability can lead to exhaustion of resources (Franceschelli
and Et. AL., 2018). For example Unilever an multinational company dealing in consumer
goods. It invest in employees benefit of health, providing better education system,
enhancing their knowledge and skills. These strategies can be beneficial for company in
achieving long terms objectives and provides sustainability in competitive market.
2. Social Pillars – This factors focus on maintaining and improving social quality of
business organisation with unity, mutuality and honesty in relationship with people. It
includes public policies with support of social issues and support by laws and shares the
idea of equality and rights (Freudenreich, Lüdeke-Freund and Schaltegger, 2020). Lets
take an example of Tesco, it is British multinational company deals in groceries and
general goods retailer in UK. They have removed over 59 billions of calories from the
food sales since 2018 through their product modification and sets they target to increase
sales of healthy products in competitive market and encouraging sustainability in
customer oriented market (Serving customers, communities and planet a little better
every day, 2022).

3. Economic Pillars – It refers to the practices that supports the long term growth of
economy without any damage or bad impact on social, cultural and environmental aspect
of community (Good and Thorpe, 2020). It involves factors like employment, increasing
sales and income stability and profitability. For example Sainsbury's is the largest chain
of supermarkets in UK, providing free breakfast dishes with the help of Nectar. They
have created the Veg-fast van which helps them in providing dishes in different locations
in UK. It leads to generate more brand value and gaining competitive advantage for
Sainsbury's (Un-appletising: 4 in 10 Brits don’t get their five a day, 2022).
Critically discuss attributes and capabilities that are necessary for business success in a complex
and changing environment.
Large business are naturally more complex for environmental changes because it gets
affects by human activities and natural ecological processes. Climate change, pollution level,
overpopulation, loss of biodiversity and global warming are the elements of changing
environment (Nguyen and Johnson, 2020). Change in environmental conditions caused by
human activities as they release large amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in to
the atmosphere and lead to influences environmental conditions. Business can be affected by
internal or external factors of environment, includes technological, social, economic, political,
competitive, ethical and global factors. These changes are important for business organisation to
survive in appropriate ways with timely changes in their strategies. Organisation requires human
resources with more collective skills and expertise which can help business to achieve goals,
success in complex and changing environment (Ponte, 2019). Some of the capabilities and
attribute are important for business success discussed below -
 Leadership skills in management of business environment can help in achieving desired
goals and becoming aware of current market situation can help business to analyse their
strength and future opportunities in changing environment (Preghenella and Battistella,
2021). Good leadership can also reduce the risk involved in adopting the changes in
complex environment.
 Understanding the change is step towards the coping with it. It brings the more flexibility
and willingness in employees to accept the change in more efficient way (Rana, 2019).
 Embrace technology can also improves the performance of business in changing
environment (Rezaee, 2019). New technologies and methods are beneficial for business

as they provide new opportunities for growth in competitive market with more
profitability (Rezaee and Et. AL., 2019).
 Acceptance of new innovation is necessary for business to adapt and overcome the
challenges faced in implementing these changes (Svensson and Et. AL., 2018). It also
helps in breakdown organisational barriers and makes coordination across people with
different disciplines and brings the new areas of opportunities for stability in competitive
environment and growth of business in complex environment (Wong and Ngai, 2021).

CONCLUSION
From the above individual report, it has been concluded that business sustainability is
term should be used by every business organisation to sustain their position with help of their
corporate social responsibility. This report evaluates the different aspects of sustainability with
their influences on business and with benefit in long term competitive advantage to organisation
with suitable examples of large scale companies like Unilever, Tesco. Further it explains the
different qualities and abilities which can be needed for business growth in continuously
changing environment like leadership skills, understanding change and acceptance of change
with right perception. All these concept are required for better understanding the environmental
change and generate more areas of growth opportunities by these complex changes in
environment.

REFERENCES:
Books and Journals
Bansal and Et. AL., 2022. Attaining circular economy through business sustainability approach:
An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Public Affairs. 22(1). p.e2319.
Bellucci, M., Bini, L. and Giunta, F., 2020. Implementing environmental sustainability
engagement into business: sustainability management, innovation, and sustainable
business models. In Innovation strategies in environmental science (pp. 107-143).
Elsevier.
Correa-Garcia and Et. AL., 2020. Corporate governance and its implications for sustainability
reporting quality in Latin American business groups. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 260. p.121142.
Cosenz, F., Rodrigues, V.P. and Rosati, F., 2020. Dynamic business modeling for sustainability:
Exploring a system dynamics perspective to develop sustainable business
models. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2). pp.651-664.
Franceschelli and Et. AL., 2018. Business model innovation for sustainability: a food start-up
case study. British Food Journal.
Freudenreich, B., Lüdeke-Freund, F. and Schaltegger, S., 2020. A stakeholder theory perspective
on business models: Value creation for sustainability. Journal of Business
Ethics, 166(1). pp.3-18.
Good, J. and Thorpe, A., 2020. The nature of organizing: A relational approach to understanding
business sustainability. Organization & environment, 33(3). pp.359-383.
Nguyen, N. and Johnson, L.W., 2020. Consumer behaviour and environmental
sustainability. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 19(6). pp.539-541.
Ponte, S., 2019. Business, power and sustainability in a world of global value chains.
Bloomsbury Publishing.
Preghenella, N. and Battistella, C., 2021. Exploring business models for sustainability: A
bibliographic investigation of the literature and future research directions. Business
Strategy and the Environment, 30(5). pp.2505-2522.
Rana, S., 2019. Sustainability in business: Some research perspectives. FIIB Business
review, 8(2). pp.77-78.
Rezaee, Z., 2019. Business sustainability, corporate governance, and organizational ethics. John
Wiley & Sons.
Rezaee and Et. AL., 2019. Business sustainability in Asia: Compliance, performance, and
integrated reporting and assurance. John Wiley & Sons.
Svensson and Et. AL., 2018. Developing a theory of focal company business sustainability
efforts in connection with supply chain stakeholders. Supply Chain Management: An
International Journal.
Wong, D.T. and Ngai, E.W., 2021. Economic, organizational, and environmental capabilities for
business sustainability competence: Findings from case studies in the fashion
business. Journal of Business Research, 126. pp.440-471.

Online
Serving customers, communities and planet a little better every day, 2022. [Online]
Available through: <https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/#:~:text=Through%20our
%20partnerships%20with%20food,Cross%20and%20other%20humanitarian%20partners.>
Un-appletising: 4 in 10 Brits don’t get their five a day, 2022. [Online]
Available through: <https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/news/latest-news/2022/08-08-
2022-un-appletising-4-in-10-brits-dont-get-their-five-a-day>