Title: Task 4: Sustainability as a key goal for business
Course: Corporate Social Responsibility online > Section: Part 1: Business ethics and Sustainability

/ca. 1 hour/

We've already discussed the notion that business is about generating profit. And how if we understand the profit in broader terms, not only as financial gain for shareholders but also as gain for stakeholders and environment?

This is a quote from the article "Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation" written by Ram Nidumolu, C.K. Prahalad and M.R. Rangaswami, and published in Harvard Business Review, September 2009.

https://hbr.org/2009/09/why-sustainability-is-now-the-key-driver-of-innovation /ca. 20 minutes/

Let's try to dive deeper into the concept of sustainability and sustainable development. According to Brundtland Comission (Our Common Future, October 1987), sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

For a long time there was no consensus on how to understand the concept of sustainability, as primarly it was developed with regard to sustaining the natural resources, and in result was also adapted in economy. To watch the story on the development of the concept of sustainability, you can watch the video from Sustainability Illustrated on "Sustainability: definition with simple natural science":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eec0UYGIeo4&list=PLEXqjIYY5zi6hWCvm5idXYLH2Qtv7fT-f

Source: Sustainability Illustrated, Sustainability: definition with simple natural science (7:43 min)  [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eec0UYGIeo4&list=PLEXqjIYY5zi6hWCvm5idXYLH2Qtv7fT-f

Now we can ask why the abovementioned mentioned article argues that there is no alternative to sustainability? Well, maybe you know the famous quote from Albert Einstein:

This is exactly the answer - sustainability offers an alternative perspective for envisioning the future of business. The assumption that "business is all about profit" might be true only when we redefine the way we understand profit.

Let's meet John Elkington, who proposed the concept of the Triple Bottom Line. You are already familiar with the concept of the bottom line, which is equal to net profit and measures fiscal performance, i.e. financial profit or loss. The double bottom line adds also measures of performance in terms of positive social impact to financial profit . Can you then guess what  the Tripple Bottom Line is? Let's check it by watching the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5m-jBf81Q

Source: Triple bottom line (3 pillars): sustainability in business (4:13 min)  [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5m-jBf81Q

Ok, so what does it look like in practice? How can organizations direct their businesses towards the triple bottom line? Let's take a look at one initiative that promotes sustainability towards the business world and aims at integrating social and environmental goals into business - UN Global Compact . UN Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative that calls companies to align their strategies and operations with the universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.

Research reveals that only two decades ago close to 40 per cent of the population of the developing world lived in extreme poverty. Since then, the world has halved extreme poverty, with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) contributing to this progress.  After recognizing the success of the MDGs and the need to complete the job of eradicating poverty, the UN adopted an ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

By watching the video below, you can better understand how the idea of introducing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can help to move towards Sustainable Development by 2030:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgNLonYOc9s

Source: simpleshow "Understanding the Dimensions of Sustainable Development" (3:59 min) [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgNLonYOc9s

The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030.

What do you think: how are we doing?

Listen to the speech "Sustainable Development Goals: time to the lapse to the future" (Leen Zevenbergen, TEDxMaastricht).
Zevenbergen mentions different steps that business is taking in order to achieve the SDGs. He mentions, e.g.  B-Corps and Social Venture Network, and explains examples of businesses driven by SDGs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7gZHzNQXBA

Source: TEDx Talks, Sustainable Development Goals: time lapse to the future | Leen Zevenbergen | TEDxMaastricht (19:18 min) [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7gZHzNQXBA

Choose one company that you know (you are customer of, you work for, or you know people who work there). Browse the website of this company and try to find as much information as possible on sustainability or corporate social responsibility policy. Please search for a company that is moving sustainability values forward, explain how it helps to acheive the SDGs by reffering to specific goals and share your view on the sustainability message that is brought by the firm in their marketing communication.  Did you know that policy before? Are you surprised? Are you convinced by the message? Explain why - what do you like and what don't you like?  Just as examples, I'm sharing the following Sustainability websites with you:

- BP: https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability.html
- Innocent: https://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/us/sustainability
- Nike: https://www.nike.com/sustainability

Of course you can also comment on other companies.

Share your story in the discussion and comment on at least one more story presented by other students.

References:

- Nidumolu R., Prahalad, C.K. and Rangaswami M.R.  (2009) Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation. Harvard Business Review 09. https://hbr.org/2009/09/why-sustainability-is-now-the-key-driver-of-innovation (Accessed 3.06.2009)
- UN (2015) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1 (Accessed 3.06.2020)
- UN (2015) The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf (Accessed 3.06.2020)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bottom_line
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Commission
- https://www.un.org
- https://www.unglobalcompact.org/