Sustainability Policy Analysis: A Report on MacVille and BHP Billiton

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability practices of MacVille, an Australian coffee supplier, and BHP Billiton, a global natural resources company. It examines MacVille's sustainability policies, highlighting areas for improvement in resource utilization, waste management, and stakeholder engagement. The report also discusses MacVille's triple bottom line approach and recommends strategies for enhancing its sustainability initiatives, such as partnering with Fair Trade organizations and implementing energy-efficient technologies. Furthermore, the report delves into BHP Billiton's sustainability vision and mission, emphasizing its commitment to responsible resource management and transparent reporting. The analysis includes recommendations for MacVille to strengthen its sustainability policies and procedures, focusing on personnel requirements, implementation plans, and communication strategies to ensure alignment with environmental, social, and economic objectives.

Running head: Sustainability Practices of Corporations
SUSTAINABILITY POLICY

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 1
Part 1
Sustainability Reporting Of Macville:
MacVille is an Australian company which is engaged in the business of supplying coffee. It
started its business in 2009 and is headquartered at Melbourne. As a part of business
practices, MacVille undertakes various sustainability practices for its smooth survival and
growth in the market. Business sustainability is the capability of any organisation to manage
its triple bottom line process which is used by it to manage its social, environmental and
economic, objectives, risks as well as opportunities. The concept of business sustainability
has gained huge significance in the recent times. This report will identify the quality of
sustainability practices of Macville. Sustainability policy of an organisation reveals about the
practices that it undertakes to make sustainability as a part of its core mission. Further, this
report will also highlight the insights about the Macville’s triple bottom line approach.
MacVille has developed a vision of becoming leading coffee related beverage retailer in the
entire coffee industry of Australia. Since its establishment, MacVille has designed its
strategic plan in such way that its plans includes strategic for the promotion of its sustainable
business practices. Besides the aims of the company about the expansion of business to
different cities of Australia, Macville has also aimed at implementing numerous
environmental friendly measures to boost up its sustainability practices which are in line with
the national standards in this respect.
The sustainability policy of Macville are continuously monitored and examined by its top
management. Although the policies of the company are overlooked by the management, yet
there are certain loopholes in the existing sustainability policies. The examination of
sustainability policy has identified various discrepancies in the sustainability practices of the
company particularly in context of its resource utilisation practices. It has been found that

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 2
Macville is deploying resources at its head offices and shops in such ways which are not in
congruence with the sustainability practices set by the expert’s team in this area. The water
and power usage has been categorised as the expenses which involves low cost spending.
There is no specific code of conduct defined in respect of usage of water as well as energy
resources. Hence, the usage practices in relation to water and power has not given significant
attention by MacVille. However, water and electricity both are the valuable resources and are
regarded as the basic elements of the society and hence they are to be supposed to be
managed and utilised effectively and effectively by the organisations. The Heating
Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system of the company has also come under
investigations for not meeting the sustainability practices. Further, there are various other
areas of the sustainability practices which requires improvements such as use of glass,
cardboard, paper as well as plastic bags. It has also been identified that the refrigerator
system of the company which is quite old has hindered the effective conduct of sustainability
practices on part of Macville as the said system consumes huge amount of energy.
Apart from issues concerning usage of electricity and water, the sustainability practices in
relation to sourcing of raw materials and waste management also requires several
improvement. It has been observed that the waste management functions of the company
covered recycling programme for its stores. However, none of such concrete practices are
carried at ground level. The raw materials of the company are procured keeping in mind mere
aim of profit generation. Moreover, MacVille promotes itself in the market as a ‘zero-
footprint’ eco-friendly entity but it has been realised after evaluating its sustainability
practices that there is still the scope of improvement.
Furthermore, there are numerous evidences of non-compliance with the sustainability
standards.

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The workplace sustainability policy covers office programmes, supply chain management
practices, analysis of green purchasing life cycle as well as adherence to ISO 14001 i.e.
Environmental Management System. The examination of sustainability policy document of
MacVille, it has been realised there is a lack of an integrated approach within the company’s
activities in respect of sustainability. An integrated approach of sustainability aims at
combining environment, society as well economy and at the development of the strategies
which could address all those areas individually or simultaneously. Hence, it can be said that
sustainability initiatives which are being undertaken by Macville requires further
improvements and it must involve stakeholders in order to be successful.
The triple bottom line approach is the approach used by the companies as an effective tool to
report about the degree of social responsibilities, economic values possessed by company and
the extent to which it impacts the environment. MacVille has also adopted the said
approaches to report about its sustainability practices. Using TBL approach, the company has
also been able to ensure that there is equality in the treatment of all the employees of the
company. Also, adoption of the TBL approach has allowed MacVille to make sure that its
activities does not lead to emission of more than 10% of total carbon gases emission. Other
sustainability practices of the company include development of waste management strategies.
A report produced by WWF 37 revealed that the countries with highest rate of deforestation
activities are also the top coffee producing companies. Also, it has been found coffee is the
second most trading commodity after oil in Australia. The demand of coffee has increased
heavily because of which the producers of coffee has adopted the mono-cropping practices
which causes damage to the environment in many ways. The increased deployment of
resources in the coffee business has raised concerns over business sustainability.
Macville must tie up with various projects such as Fair Trade Foundation or Rainforest
Alliance to undertake better purchasing decisions in relation to its raw materials such as

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coffee beans so as to achieve its sustainability objectives effectively and efficiently. As
Macville operates various stores where it serves coffee it could offer extra discounts to those
customers who use reusable mugs. Further, use of ceramic crockery while providing dining
facilities in its stores could be an additional way of reducing its negative impact on the
environment. All these practices could significantly contribute to the green planet. The
managers of the company have to act as the front runner in devising such sustainability
policies which could protect the interests of its stakeholders as well. As it is evident that the
existing HVAC system of the company is manually operated and therefore there are high
chances of occurrence of flaws in its operations. The replacement of the said system which is
in place currently with the electric system which consumes less energy but promotes further
the sustainability initiatives of the company could be an effective step towards upgrading the
quality of its sustainability policy. The new or amended sustainability policies must
encompass various stakeholders of Macville such as its employees, managers, society and its
suppliers. Further, making tie-ups with the organic farmers could also be an effective
initiative on part of company. There must be adequate infrastructures to facilitate
compositing function to protect the environment.
Macville must start making use of biodegradable and compostable crockery items so as to
avoid harming the environment. Code of conduct must be designed for the usage of dual flush
toilets at Macville. Other policies that could be formed are to educate the employees of the
company to turn off power consuming devices during the periods of inactivity if it is still
going to continue with its manual operating procedures. Moreover, to procure the raw
material only those suppliers that are associated with the Fair Trade Foundation or Rainforest
Alliance must be selected. Also, to avoid the situations of over-consumption of energy a limit
must be set for the permissible energy consumption per head. Subsequently, Macville can
organise various awareness campaign within the company.

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 5
After reviewing the sustainability of Macville thoroughly, it would be recommended to the
company to make certain improvements in its policies and procedures. In order to make those
amendments following things will be required:
Personnel requirement:
The potential personnel that could be included in the MacVille’s sustainability drive are as
follows:
To deal with the sustainability issues, it is necessary to analyse the areas where such issues
applies. For the purpose of this analysis it has to be determined whether the entire
organisation or a particular department or a unit has to overlook the sustainability
programmes. Personnel are also required to implement and continuously monitor the
sustainable practices of the company which are discussed above so that it can ensured that
requisite improvements have been made and how far the sustainable policies and practices of
the company needs to be improved yet. It could be MacVille’s Chief Executive Officer who
has the responsibility to design required strategies and policies in different areas and make
them implemented by the managers of the company. The managers will have to report on
their compliances with the sustainability policy of the company.
Further, the employees of the company have to make their contribution in the best possible
manner in achieving the sustainability objectives of MacVille. So the top management of the
company must encourage them by providing requisite training and knowledge which enables
them to perform their roles in respect of the sustainable performance. In order to act in
accordance with the approach of triple bottom line the company must have a proper
communication channel put in place to allow them to communicate about the financial as

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 6
well as non-financial performance of the company with its stakeholders such as employees,
shareholders, creditors and investors, governmental agencies and the society to which it
belong.
The implementation plan of the new or amended sustainable policy must clearly define the
individual roles and the deadlines within which they are supposed to achieve the set targets in
the areas of sustainable business development. The targets could be related to any social
economic and environmental aspect of the business such as increasing the recycling of waste
products or materials by at-least 10% by the end of the current quarter.

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Part 2:
Sustainability policy of BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is an Australian entity listed on Australian Securities Exchange. The company
started its operation in year 1885 and is headquartered at Melbourne. BHP is the largest
natural resources company across the world. It operates its business in the energy sector of
Australia. It is also known as the industry leader in major resource processing business such
as aluminium, coal: metallurgical or energy, copper, manganese, iron ore, silver and nickel.
Also, BHP holds interests in speciality products such as liquefied natural gases, petroleum or
diesel oils. Since, BHP Billiton is using and possessing the natural resources in abundance it
has to operate its business in such manner that does not hamper the sustainable development
of the economy. For this purpose, the company voluntarily undertakes sustainability
initiatives in multiple ways and also it reports about its sustainable business practices to the
public in the transparent manner on a regular basis.
Vision Statement of BHP Billiton:
The vision of BHP Billiton is to create to create enduring value for its business through the
discovery, acquisition, development as well as effective conversion of various natural
resources and also to provide its customers with innovative and market focused solutions. At
BHP, we are highly committed to our long-run strategy of investing its finances in cost
effective, world-class export oriented operations which allows us to diversify our business
across different markets and geographical areas.
We convert our vision into reality by putting the planned actions and activities in the areas of
reduction in the consumption of natural resources, optimising energy related products as well

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 8
as techniques that brings innovative solutions to add value for our customers, host
communities and to the planet Earth.
Mission statement of BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton aspires to cause zero harm to the people, its host communities and also the
environment in which it operates its business and to achieve the best and leading business
practices in the industry. The company aims at creation of sustainable value for its
stakeholders such as its employees, suppliers, customers, contractors and business partners
and its host communities. Formulation and adoption of sound principles of safety, ethical
conduct of business, undertaking various social, environmental and economic activities as a
part of business practices are some of the integral ways of conducting the business in the
effective and efficient manner by BHP Billion.
At BHP Billiton, we have adopted the triple bottom line approach to conduct our business in
the most sustainable manner so as to protect the interest of our employees, host communities
and the environment in which we operate.
Goals of BHP Billiton:
Goal 1: As BHP Billiton operates within the energy sector of Australia, it is primarily focused
on the energy and has a goal to reduce its energy consumption onsite at the live events
organised by the company and in its offices
 Indicator: Energy
 Action: Reducing the energy consumption onsite at the live events organised by the
company
 Stakeholders: Equipment vendors and employees.
 Timeline: Over the period of upcoming 5 years.

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Goal 2: Achieving higher rate of return on investments:
 Indicator: Dividend or Capital Gain
 Action: Offering higher returns to the shareholders on their investments.
 Stakeholders: Owners, shareholders
 Timeline: Over the period of next 3 years.
Goal 3: To achieve the employee fatality rate to zero per-cent.
 Indicator: Fatality Rate
 Action: Putting health and safety at workplaces at priority.
 Stakeholders: Employees and management of company
 Timeline: In the next year.
Objectives of BHP Billiton:
 To maintain and apply high level standards in the areas of ethical conduct of business;
 To maintain an approach which is prudent and related oriented towards creation of
maximum value for the shareholders in long run;
 To carry out the business operations by achieving high level of sustainability;
 To achieve the goals towards sustainable energy consumption, BHP will have to
ensure that all the purchased energy related equipment are rated by Energy Star
Program.
Statement of commitment:
At BHP, we are highly committed to:

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 10
 Provide workplaces which are healthy and safe to perform the tasks. The company
continuously seek approaches to promote as well as improve the health of its
workforce and also the community within which it operates its business.
 Identification, assessment and management of risk to protect its employees,
contractors, environment and the host communities;
 Upholding the ethical business practices in each and every course of action
undertaken in the business;
 Encouraging the system of diverse workforce and provision of work environment
where every employee is treated in the fairer manner and their potential is fully
realised.
 Understanding, promoting and upholding the human rights within the company’s
scope of influencing and respecting the fundamental rights of indigenous people and
protecting the cultural heritages.
 Setting and achieving the pre-determined targets in significant areas such as energy
efficiency, greenhouse gas emission and its intensity so as to promote efficient
utilisation of the natural resources and to reduce and prevent the pollution in the
environment.
 Regularly reviewing the financial and non-financial performance of the company and
reporting about the results of the performance and progress publically.
 Enhancing the biodiversity protection by making assessment of the ecological values
of the company and by keeping in mind the aspects related to land-use while
undertaking investment or operating activities;
 Working with those parties or organisations that are involved through the company’s
products and by products life-cycles so as to understand the pattern of emission

Sustainability Practices of Corporations 11
caused by their production processes and to develop those technologies that have the
potential to promote the responsible usage and management of the resources;
 Developing partnerships that could support our sustainable business practices towards
our society and host communities with the aim of enhancing the economic benefits
from our core operations and to contribute positively to poverty alleviation;
 Engaging with the governmental agencies regulators and other people who are
directly or indirectly affected by operations, on a regular and honest basis and to take
their opinions and concerns while undertaking decision making processes;
 Taking actions related to our businesses and working with government, industry and
other stakeholders in order to address the concerns related to climate change.
In implementing the above policy, we at BHP Billiton, we believe in the total stakeholder’s
engagement such as our employees, vendors and suppliers, customers, business communities
and society in sharing responsibilities to meet our requirements.
Our social license is granted and sustained by us by providing the best quality of our
relationships and our operational as well as environmental performance along with our social
impacts of our operations.
Further, BHP Billiton will positively contribute towards the achievement of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) as formulated by United Nations. As a global corporation we
contribute to those SDGs by way of adoption of Triple Bottom Line Approach. We execute
our TBL approach in the following ways:
 Our business activities: the products that we produce and the way in which we
produce the.
 Our voluntary investments made towards our corporate social responsibilities.