Sustainability in Business: Volkswagen and Nissan Report

This comprehensive report delves into the multifaceted aspects of sustainability within the business context, examining critical issues and strategies employed by major corporations. The report begins by analyzing the Volkswagen emission scandal, detailing the key sustainability challenges faced by the automotive industry, and the strategies implemented to regain consumer trust. It further explores the role of leadership during crises and recommends activities for improved sustainability practices. The report then shifts its focus to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the apparel industry, specifically in Bangladesh, addressing human rights challenges, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the impact of sustainability on supply chains. Finally, it examines Nissan's business model, assessing the effects of global warming, resource scarcity, population growth, and biodiversity loss, while also exploring financial challenges, innovative strategies, and the impact of regulations on sustainability. The report concludes with the importance of sustainability reporting and its influence on business operations.

Running head: SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Table of Contents
Assessment Task 1...........................................................................................................................2
Overview of the Volkswagen Emission case...............................................................................2
Key sustainability issue in the automobile industry....................................................................2
Challenges faced in the sustainable opportunitys........................................................................3
Strategies that Volkswagen implemented for gaining consumer loyalty through sustainable
opportunitys.................................................................................................................................3
Role of the CEO in dealing with the crisis..................................................................................4
Recommended activities..............................................................................................................5
Assessment task 2............................................................................................................................6
Assessment task 3..........................................................................................................................14
About the organization, Nissan..................................................................................................14
Effects of global warming, resource scarcity, population growth and loss of biodiversity on
Nissan’s business model............................................................................................................14
Financial challenges and solutions for sustainable development..............................................16
Implementation of innovative business strategies helping to address the sustainability issues 17
Impact of sustainability on the production and design of the organization...............................18
Impact of regulations and international codes on sustainability in the industry........................20
Importance of sustainability reporting.......................................................................................21
References......................................................................................................................................22
Appendix........................................................................................................................................28

2SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Assessment Task 1
Overview of the Volkswagen Emission case
The Volkswagen Emission scandal began in the year 2015 which initiated through a
notice that was issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of violation
of the Clean Air Act on the organization (Bachmann, Ehrlich and Ruzic 2018). Volkswagen is a
German automobile manufacturer which was found guilty of programming a turbocharged direct
injection (TDI) diesel engines for minimizing the emission rates during the period of the
laboratory tests (Strittmatter and Lechner 2019). It has been found that the concerned
organization have already deployed the software in 11 million cars till 2015 (Mansouri 2016).
The scientists from West Virginia University evaluated the rate of emissions during live road
tests through the Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) (Zhang, Veijalainen and
Kotkov 2016). From the annual report of the organization it has been observed that the profit
margin of the business depreciated by 20% after the scandal (Strittmatter and Lechner 2019).
Key sustainability issue in the automobile industry
The automobile industry has taken the opportunity of refining the sustainable operations
for minimizing the carbon emissions in the atmosphere (Zhang 2018). However, it has been
observed that most of the companies have negated the opportunity of coming up with sustainable
operations for retaining the margins while minimizing the operational expenses. The lack of
sufficient sustainable measures in the automobile industry has increased the rate of carbon
emissions, resulting to the increased global warming and maximized pollutants in air (Teoh and
Gaur 2019). Therefore, the major sustainability issue that is being faced by the automobile
industry in the current era is specifically grounded on the increased rate of carbon footprints in
the atmosphere which is resulting to environmental degradation.

3SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Challenges faced in the sustainable opportunities
The major challenges that are being faced by the automobile industry are due to the
increasing initial cost of implementing the sustainable mechanisms which might affect the
margins and economic sustenance of the businesses. García-Madariaga and Rodríguez-Rivera
(2017) stated that the increased cost of operations on the sustainable mechanisms might affect
the capabilities of the organization in refining their market position while increasing the viability
of suitable return son their investments. Therefore, the increased initial cost of implementing the
sustainable mechanisms might affect the competency of the automobile manufacturing
organizations in increasing the viability of the operations correlating to the demand of the
customers.
Strategies that Volkswagen implemented for gaining consumer loyalty through sustainable
opportunities
The loyalty and confidence of the customers play an integral part in increasing the
business sustenance while designing process flows in the different markets. In this context, the
concerned venture has taken the opportunity of apologizing for the inconvenience that is being
caused by the organizational proposition from the customers. The apology assisted the venture in
retaining the loyalty of the consumers while making the same aware of the subtle modifications
that are being planned by the venture for ensuring the minimization of flaws.
The concerned company took the opportunity of bringing forth alterations in the
corporate culture. It has been noted that the vulnerable corporate culture affected the capabilities
of the organization in refining the business operations through assessment of the different need
of the venture. Stoycheva et al. (2018) stated that the performance of the organizations are often
backed by the influence that is being created by its culture. Therefore, the concerned venture

4SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
took the opportunity of penalizing and laying off the convicts that were involved in the emission
scandal of the venture. It supported the venture in retaining the positive workplace culture while
designing process flows as per the changing requirements and priorities of the customers.
The resolution of the emission grounded issue that is being faced by the organization was
grounded on purgatory activity of unethical activities in the business processes. In this context,
the organization took the opportunity of terminating the unethical elements from the
organizational culture (Opazo-Basáez, Vendrell-Herrero and Bustinza Sánchez 2017). It
enabled the venture in refining the performance of the same and retaining the loyalty of the
customers. Therefore, the immediate strategies of the concerned automobile organization
assisted the same in retaining their market position among the target group of customers while
increasing the rate of engagement of the customers.
Role of the CEO in dealing with the crisis
The CEO played an integral part in communicating the different changes that are being
worked upon by the organization to the key stakeholders, including the customers and
community stakeholders. It supported the organization in providing the stakeholders with
authentic information on the nature of modifications that are being planned by the same for
avoiding such crisis in the future (Dos Santos et al. 2019). The transparency of communication
would be ascertained through the involvement of the CEO while designing process flows in the
different markets. Moreover, the CEO is also responsible for dealing with the immediate
strategies that might be made by the organization for sustaining the business in the markets
(Jiang et al. 2018). The key aspects of change in the organizational operations will be
specifically grounded on the refining performance of the systems correlating to the requirements
and priorities of the customers. Therefore, the active participation of the CEO in dealing with the

5SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
crisis specifies transparency of communication and the immediate decision making aspects to
support the sustenance of the business.
Recommended activities
The recommended set of activities that might be considered by the automaker are:
 Refining the supervision and control: The supervision and administrative control over
the operational processes would allow the organization in minimizing the flaws in the
operational processes. The key aspects of change in the organizational operations will be
grounded on the refining performance of the systems correlating to the requirements and
priorities of the customers. Continuous monitoring and controlling activities would allow
the venture in retaining the corporate culture. Therefore, the modifications in the
organizational operations will be specifically grounded on the refining performance of
the systems while adhering to the common objectives of the venture.
 Integrating quality management opportunities: The integration of quality management
opportunities in the organizational operations through effective in- house quality checks
would allow the venture in minimizing the flaws in the proposition design, while
complying with the different legislations. Simultaneous quality management
opportunities of the organization along with the production and testing processes would
permit the business in refining the overall quality of propositions in adherence to the
demand of the customers.

6SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Assessment task 2
UN Sustainable goals and CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the major factor that is being initiated by the
organizations for empowering the social sustenance. However, it has been observed that the
employees in around 49% of the companies, globally, are subjected to exploitation grounded on
remuneration and inequalities (Trinder, Zlatanova and Jiang 2018). The discussion will analyze
the human rights challenges that are being faced by the apparel industry in Bangladesh and
examine the best practices along with the role of HR in refining the working conditions.
The UN Sustainable development goals 1, 10 and 12 specifically aims at refining the
working conditions while ending poverty, reducing inequalities and responsible consumption. It
has been observed that more than 10% of the world population are living in extreme poverty
(Solís et al. 2018). In this context, Bangladesh’s overpopulation contributed to factors like
unemployment and poverty. The favorable trade policies that were implemented by the
government in the early 1980s have influenced the rapid growth of the textile industry in
Bangladesh (Stanwick and Stanwick 2015). However, it has been noted that the poor working
conditions and the inequalities in the workforce grounded on remuneration policies affected the
competency of the textile industry in refining the quality of the operations. According to the
research of Stanwick and Stanwick (2015), women in the Bangladeshi textile firms are subjected
to unequal treatments through payment of low wages while dictating over the working conditions
that are being faced by the same. The factory owners of textile industry of the developing
economies, specifically in Pakistan and Bangladesh, choose female employees over male

7SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
employees who have little educational background, usually unmarried and are from poor rural
families, thus curtailing their scope of changing their jobs (Muthu 2017). However, it has been
noted that most of the companies like Gucci aimed at improving the working conditions through
adherence to the specific needs of the employees (Schneider and Arnold 2019). The developing
countries are still lagging in this provisions of sustainable functioning as per the employees due
to huge population and lower literacy rates. On the other hand, SMEs specifically holds a profit
centric approach in the textile industry, violating the Human Rights requirements and the UN
Sustainable measures (Shen et al. 2017).
The inequality in the context of the workforce planning is grounded on the lower wages
being paid to the female employees than the male employees. On the other hand, the over-
crowded working conditions in the factories have resulted to crisis like the Rana Plaza collapse
(Stanwick and Stanwick 2015). Moreover, it has been noted from the research of Stanwick and
Stanwick (2015) that the absence of sufficient latrine facilities in the workplace have
compromised the sanitation and hygiene related concerns. Poor ventilation systems in the
workplace and the lack of workplace safety related legislations might be considered as the major
factors that affected the competency of the textile manufacturing organizations in adhering to the
human rights’ requirements and priorities. It has been observed that Africa’s textile industry is
specifically encountering challenges related to poor work environment planning and lack of HR
assistance in improving workplace conditions (Pattnaik and Dangayach 2019). Oelze (2017)
opined that the exploitation of the employees with long hours of work is specifically the concept
that is followed in the textile industry of the Asian countries. The aspects of equal treatments and
fair workplace conditions might be observed as the major factors that violated the common
human rights need of the people. Kushwaha, and Sharma (2016) stated that the UN sustainable

8SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
measures are developed with the view of safeguarding every aspects of sustenance while
providing the organizations with a guideline for refining their operations on ethical grounds. In
this connection, companies like Prada, Armani and Hermes have taken the initiative of
minimizing the inequalities in the workplace through introduction of EEO (Equal Employment
Opportunities) and fair remuneration policies (Azevedo, Miguel and Mesquita 2018). However,
the existing inequalities in the wage planning attributes and distinction between the male and
female employees on the basis of gender has created a scenario of human rights violation.
Therefore, the lack of CSR related activities of the textile organizations in Bangladesh have
greatly influenced the standard of living and the health conditions of the people working in the
overcrowded factories.
Effects of sustainability on the supply chains of apparel industry
The meeting of the global retailers in Bangladesh were undertaken where Wal-Mart
officials took the opportunity of blocking the more payment options for apparel from the
Bangladesh factories for refining electrical and fire safety in the plants (Stanwick and Stanwick
2015). On the other hand, H&M, the Swedish brand, asked the existing retailers to develop
democratic committees for influencing the negotiation on better working conditions and
increasing the wage limit of the garment workers in Bangladesh (Stanwick and Stanwick 2015).
The efforts of the suppliers and the retailers took the form of a nonbinding pact, known as the
Alliance for ensuring the safety and security of the garment workers in Bangladesh (Stanwick
and Stanwick 2015).
The Alliance aimed at making investments on factory inspections while updating the fire
and safety conditions in the workplace for minimizing the threat of risks. The global apparel
industry is facing continuous changes in the supply chain operations. Companies like Armani,

9SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Hermes and the like have taken the initiative of imposing different policies for refining the
supplier networks and avoiding violation of human rights in any aspect (Annapoorani 2017).
The inspections and the different risk aversion techniques effectively brought about alterations in
the existing operational units in the garment industry of Bangladesh. Muschett (2017) stated that
the sustainability of the practices in Bangladeshi Garment industry is specifically focused on not
only refining the productivity but also refining the lifestyle of the workers through better wage
propositions and health related concerns. Companies like Louis Vuitton and Hermes conducted
inspection on the working conditions in the factory for identifying the increased imposition of
regulation (Azevedo, Miguel and Mesquita 2018). Different retailers forced the factory owners
in the garment industry in increasing the social sustenance relate activities through revised
payment, health and hygiene related operations and the safety of the workers.
Moreover, the sustenance related activities also included aversion towards inequalities in
the workforce grounded on gender biases. It supported the interests of the female workers while
adhering to the UN Sustainability goals (Chu et al. 2018). The European and American alliance
has resulted to Accord, a standard of inspection of the factories. The development of standards
for the inspection assisted in coming up with a comprehensive study on the different activities
that are being undertaken by the factory owners, correlating to the benchmarks. It has been
observed that the European Accord would be enforced in the over 1,600 factories where the
European retailers are the customers of the suppliers 600 factories would be administered
through the American Accord (Stanwick and Stanwick 2015). The Accords specified the
sustainability standards and dominates over the wage rates and the working conditions in the
factories. However, a growing concern of the factory owners were observed due to the increase
in the wage rates.

10SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
The factory owners and suppliers of the garment industry opinionates that the increased
imposition of sustainability standards increased their operational costs while minimizing the
margins for continuing with their economic sustenance related goals (García-Madariaga and
Rodríguez-Rivera 2017). The Bangladesh government took the opportunity of introducing their
own inspection program called the National Tripartite Action Plan for monitoring over the
progress made by the apparel factories as per the Accords (Stanwick and Stanwick 2015). It has
been observed that thousands of garment workers protested for their lower grade pays,
demanding of a wage hike, resulting to shut down of over 100 garment manufacturing factories
(Biermann, Kanie and Kim 2017). The Accords and the sustainability Standards created
awareness among the factory workers and minimized the supply of cheap labor. However, a
major challenge that is encountered by the factory owners are due to the increased cost of
operations. It affected the competency of the organizations in refining the margins as per the
goals of the venture. Therefore, the sustainability related practices affected the interests of the
suppliers while empowering the concerns that are being faced by the employees.
Global best practices
The global best practices in ethical sourcing specifically aims at ensuring that the
propositions are sourced in a responsible and sustainable manner. The aspects of sustainable
sourcing is grounded on the safe treatment met out to the workers and the environmental and
social impacts that are being created by the supplier while coming up with the propositions
(Teoh and Gaur 2019). Most of the reputed organizations take the opportunity of implementing
the global best practices as a stepping stone to their sourcing process for retaining the brand
reputation of the same (Stanwick and Stanwick 2015). In this regards, it has been found that the
lack of sustainable practices in the apparel industry of Bangladesh have conflicted with the

11SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
sustainable standards that are followed by the retail customers. For an example, Wal-Mart and
H&M took the opportunity of enforcing their sustainable standards in the form of Accords on the
different suppliers in the garment manufacturing industry of Bangladesh (Stanwick and Stanwick
2015).
The need of enforcing the Accords was to maintain a sustainability standards of the
business while refining the lifestyle of the people while neutralizing the impact of lower wage,
unhealthy lifestyle and absence of safety. The market players, mostly the retail organizations in
the apparel industry, took the opportunity of conducting factory inspections for ensuring social
sustainability among the workers. On the other hand, the inspections were commenced for
refining the competency of the organizations in adhering to the social concerns while retaining
the brand value of the same. Shen et al. (2017) stated that more than 93% of the global
organizations are concerned about upholding the social sustenance related affairs while
providing the employees with fair remuneration, as per the employment legislations. On the
other hand, Stanwick and Stanwick (2015) opined that the retailers that outsource their offerings
from different suppliers take the opportunity of inspecting the working conditions for
safeguarding their brand image while empowering social sustenance.
Therefore, the retail customers of the garment manufacturing factories of Bangladesh and
the overall apparel industry took the opportunity of enforcing different standards of social
sustenance related to grade pays and working conditions. The purpose of applying the global best
practices of sourcing their propositions was to save their brand image from being tainted while
empowering the lifestyle and productivity through improvements in the working conditions.
The role of HR in driving sustainability