Responsible and Sustainable Business, Essay Example

Businesses today face several challenges. Their operations and processes are more visible to the public than ever before, thanks to the recent developments of information technology. When companies do not adapt a responsible and sustainable development model, the public is the first to know. Several examples of reputation loss due to unethical or irresponsible business processes could be quoted, such as BP’s oil spillage (Allen, para 1) or Coca Cola’s unethical behavior when they sold drinks in India with pesticide levels higher than the European standards (Torres, French, Hordijk and Olup, 53)

It is important that companies do not only comply with regulations and the law, but consider the long term impact of their activities on the society and the living environment. In the globalized world, it is important to match corporate behavior with the expectation of the public, by building strong ethical values.

Morrison and Bridwell state that when a company has a great influence and impact on the  society or environment, it needs to meet the expectations of the people, or its power will be taken  away. This is what the authors call the “Iron Law of Responsibility”.

The author of the current essay would like to examine the aspects of responsible and sustainable businesses. The seven tenets of sustainability strategy will be reviewed in detail, in order to create a framework for transforming corporations to become not only prosperous, but also responsible and sustainable. The main focus of the essay, however, will be the impact of corporate citizenship and behavior on business performance and community engagement.

The main driving forces that increase the need for corporate social responsibility will also be examined in detail. The scarcity of natural resources calls for innovations that are focusing on reducing carbon footprints and using sustainable energy or materials. This force calls for effective waste management and energy consumption policies. The next driving force is demographic change on a local and global scale. Translated to the business language, this means that providing health care, flexible working hours, and not discriminating older workers is important for businesses to maintain their responsibility for the society. Changing operating environments also create a challenge for companies, and implementing ethical policies is necessary. With many businesses operating overseas to increase the company’s profitability, it is their responsibility not to engage in workers’ and environmental exploitation. Making sure that the safety of workers in developing countries is maintained, while child labor is rejected is important for both the business and society. Finally, sustainable investment projects should be developed in order to maintain growth and look after the interest of all stakeholders.

The author of the current essay would also like to examine the relationship between business performance, corporate citizenship, ethical principles, visibility, and sustainability by studying several cases where managers embraced corporate responsibility, and those where commitment for the society or the environment was neglected. The main thesis the author would like to examine is that corporate social responsibility, sustainable business development and investment can create a long term benefit for all stakeholders, improve public relations and the company’s competitive advantage. Through case study and literature analysis, the study would attempt to create a framework for transforming a well performing profit oriented company into an organization that acts responsively and utilizes sustainability as a business development model.

Works Cited

Allen, F. BP: A Case Study In Why CSR Matters. Forbes. 2010. Web.

Morrison, E., Bridwell, L. Consumer Social Responsibility – The True Corporate Social Responsibility. 2011. Web.

Torres, C., Garcia-French, M., Hordijk, R. and Olup, K. Four Case Studies on Corporate Social Responsibility: Do Conflicts Affect a Company’s Corporate Social  Responsibility Policy? 2012. Web.