Paper Example on the Sustainability in the Business World

1.0 Introduction

The concept of sustainability in the business world has gained significant recognition in recent years. Nevertheless, it is still a new idea for most business leaders. Increasing an organization's capital base is a well-calculated business standard, but organizations have failed to accept the possibility of utilizing this thought to the natural and human resource sector. Achieving sustainability development in the business will mean that it must be included in the planning and assessment systems of the business enterprise. Achieving this will requires that the concept need to be assimilated into the terms that can be comprehended by the business executives. The sustainability domains focus on environmental, social, economic, technological, and cultural aspects of the business environment. Goldie, Douglas, and Furnass (2005) defines sustainability as "The capacity of human systems to provide for the full range of human concerns in the long term." Of importance in this paper is to investigate the sustainability concept and the sustainable business initiative. Corporate social responsibility has been used as an initiative to achieve sustainability in the business realm. Because sustainability plays a critical role in the field of art and business today, it has helped business entities implement initiatives that go beyond the scope of future environmental concerns.

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2.0 Section 1: Overview of the Issue

2.1 Background

"Sustainability" was first introduced in the business environment in the 1980s by Benn, Edwards & Williams (2014). In 1987, John Elkington co-founder of the London consultancy SustainAbility with environmental campaigner Julia Hailes advocated for business sustainability where he promoted the holistic development of business entities. However, the main historical events that have shaped the discourse on sustainability started in 1987 by the world commission on the environment. This was followed by the initiation of the Brundtland concept that stated that sustainability concerns "development that meets the needs of the existing generation without affecting the needs of the future generation." This is what has acted as a guide to the controversial issues around sustainability and various issues experienced across the globe (Goldie, Douglas, & Furnass, 2005).

2.2 Sustainability Principles

Sustainability involves the creation of better and newer methods that humanity can meet their needs with no significant destruction of either the beauty or the integrity of its nature. The primary concept of sustainability has been based on the premise that humanity and its community is surrounded by social, environmental and economic systems which ought to be maintained to be in constant harmony if the community is to function to the advantage of the inhabitants. A healthy society is one that can persist into the future, providing the best form of life to the members. Sustainability is a way of assessing at a community in a bigger possible context, both time and space.

Even though sustainability assimilates a broad perspective, its pursuit is fundamentally a local idea because each community embraces different social, economic, and environmental needs and requirements. And at each level, there is a specific and unique quality, quantity, and balance between the concerns. Some principles help ensure the systems in business, art sectors, and the society at larger are well integrated and endure.

The need to maintain and improve quality of life: Quality of life varies between communities to the community. This includes healthcare services, housing, employment, pollution, diseases, pollution, and other risks. There is a need for each locality to strive to improve the quality of life-based on their needs for now and for the coming generations.

The need to improve on the local economy: The local economy needs to be sustainable. This includes better job opportunities, enough tax base, and conducive business environment. A sustainable economy is diversified and cannot be disrupted by internal or external disasters, and such an economy cannot alter the cost of maintenance.

2.3 The Problem of Unsustainable Development

There is a theory that resources should be preserved for the future generation. At the same time, there is an assumption that unborn individuals have the right to these resources. The strange this, however, is that the right for entitlement for the resources ceases to exist one an individual is born. This is because, each generation, once born, is bestowed with the same responsibility of enhancing sustainability. At the same time, while proponents of sustainable development argue for the need to prepare resources for the unborn, they also argue that many members of the same future generations should be prevented from existing. This means that they tend to support the government initiative to control population size. This means that the unborn have the right to property but lacks the right to life. To a large extent, this has challenged sustainable development, leading to repeated arguments on the need to promote sustainability in society.

Another problem with unsustainable development is the difficulty to assess the amount of resources that will be needed for the coming generation. A decade from now, there must be significant changes in relations to the environment, social and economic systems in the society. Unsustainable development sacrifices the well-being of the future generation for the sake of nonexistence possibilities. There are resources that are used in contemporary society that might not be required by the future generation, but demand might be less than the supply.

2.4 Perspectives on Sustainability

There is an underlying relationship beyond the function of natural capital measured as a distributing model for the current spectrum of sustainability accounting model of the triple bottom, people, the planet and the profit point of view which draws the social and relationship capital conveying the existing link between them extrinsically, adding to an intrinsic value for the global ecosystem. The development of society includes the establishment of institutions, stakeholder groups, and networks to facilitate daily operations and the well-being of the inhabitants. Environmental aspects consist of all renewable and non-renewable components and the processes that provide goods and services, including water and biodiversity elements. The economic element of sustainability revolves around trade operations, populations, and the creation of wealth in society (Sarkissian & Hofer, 2009). The economic, social, and environmental spectrum of sustainability coincides with the needs of humanity by empowering education, promoting business development and help nature leaders of tomorrow (Empowered Communities, 2019).

3.0 Section 2: Sustainability initiative

3.1 Description of Sustainability Initiative

Sustainability initiative is a plan put in place by an organization to help meet the unique needs of the present without affecting the probably needs of the future generation. It can also be defined as the potential for the sustainable maintenance of the humanity well-being which revolves around economic, social, and environmental sectors. In many instances, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an example of an initiative that business entities can use in achieving sustainable growth and development by delivering environmental, economic and social benefits to the stakeholders in the business environment. Even though CSR is a concept with multifaceted definitions and customs, it has significantly been at the facade of global business sustainability initiative (Evans et al., 2017). To contribute to the gradual development of the society in facets of the economy, social and environment, there is a need for business entities to promote the CSR initiative and create a strong foundation for all business areas.

3.2 Discussion of Sustainability Initiative

Innovations in corporate social responsibility(CSR) that are related to the environment, social and economic aspects of the society leads to sustainability by creating a solid foundation for the growth and development of the business entity. CSR initiative has increasingly become common, and consumers are in need of business entities that support causes they value. Most consumers are willing to pay for goods produced by socially responsible organizations. This helps in the growth and profitability of the business entity. At the same time, talented professionals are attracted to the company's whose core values aligns towards sustainability. The CSR initiative also promotes community relations and strong client base. When a business engages in charitable work, they inspire other organizations to follow suit, and this gives the savvy business opportunities to coordinate with other companies. The sustainability initiative is, however, expensive. From the administrative point of view, the approach can end up being costly with difficulty in tracking return on investment.

4.0 Conclusion

Sustainability in the business world has gained significant dominance over the last three decades. Achieving sustainability in an organization requires that the business integrate their operation strategy and evaluation system in the business enterprise.