Business Sustainability and Society

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Introduction

The issue of sustainability is currently being taken seriously by corporations, governments, individuals, and communities across the world. Some of the natural phenomena such as hurricanes, typhoons, extreme temperatures, and rising sea levels recorded in different regions show conclusively that global warming is a serious threat in this century. These challenges explain why employees must put in place various measures, programs, and practices to support the concept of sustainability. This paper proposes how the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be introduced into my workplace in accordance with the Triple Bottom Line Sustainability (TBLS) model.

Advancing Sustainability

Proposed Issue

My current workplace stands a chance to benefit from various sustainability approaches and transform the company’s image. With the organization producing and marketing electrical equipment, it can redesign its model in such a way that all employees and stakeholders take the idea of global conservation seriously. This means that different stakeholders and managers in this firm will come together, present meaningful ideas, and implement the most desirable action plans that can sustain the concept of sustainability (Kopnina & Blewitt, 2015). This move should be undertaken as a powerful change process. It must also be sustained using the company’s resources.

Two key areas can be taken seriously during the process. The first one is ensuring that all employees at the company are sensitized about the intended goals. Different workers (especially designers and engineers) will focus on the concept of research and development (R&D) in order to produce superior equipment that promotes the idea of sustainability. Most such products should be manufactured using recyclable materials (Muntean, 2018). They should also be durable to minimize their footprints in the natural environment. This strategy will ensure that the workplace supports every agenda aimed at promoting sustainability.

The second area of concern revolves around marketing. For this case, marketing is a wide process that begins with production and ends with the consumer. The company can monitor every logistical process to ensure that the vehicles used for transporting raw materials and finished products are friendly to the environment. Outlets and stores that are used for marketing different goods from this firm should also promote the concept. Additionally, I recommend that the organization goes further to use modern technologies (Kopnina & Blewitt, 2015). For instance, the concept of e-marketing can be pursued whereby different products will be available online. This means that the company will only deliver items to specific customers, thereby minimizing its ecological footprint.

Application of the Five Dimensional Model of Triple Bottom Line Sustainability (TBLS)

The Triple Bottom Line Sustainability (TBLS) is a model that has been embraced by many theorists and companies in an attempt to promote environmentally-friendly business processes. My workplace can benefit significantly from this approach because it presents powerful dimensions for enhancing desirable change. Originally, the model outlined these three dimensions: people, planet, and profit (Kopnina & Blewitt, 2015). However, it has been expanded to focus on aspects such as business processes and organizational culture. Muntean (2018) believes that these attributes work synergistically to ensure that a given concept becomes an integral part of an organization.

The notion of people will be considered whereby most of the actions and practices were undertaken by this company will be aimed at addressing the needs of the targeted community. The notion of profit will arise from the economic values associated with this company. The planet dimension will focus on the most appropriate practices and measures that can promote the integrity of the surrounding environment (Banfield, Kay, & Royles, 2018). The company’s proposed business model will, therefore, resonate with these key aspects of the TBLS model.

The theory offers five unique dimensions that are expanded from the above three. The first one to be considered is that of organizational culture. This idea revolves around the practices, norms, behaviors, and actions that are embraced or taken seriously by every employee. The implementation of this dimension will result in a positive culture and encourage different employees to pursue desirable initiatives. They will be empowered to deliver high-quality products.

This achievement will guide new workers to support the existing business agenda. This dimension must be supported using specific key performance indicators (KPIs). For instance, the company should be able to exhibit a desirable culture within a period of six months (Kopnina & Blewitt, 2015). The second one is the ability to produce superior and environmentally-friendly products that meet the needs of the final user. Another KPI is that of increased revenues. The acquired income will eventually be diverted to support the outlined corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The second dimension is that of “learning organization” (Banfield et al., 2018). As described earlier, the leaders and employees will focus on emerging sustainability ideas and concepts. The company will create a positive environment whereby workers will be allowed to present their views in an attempt to improve every process. Developments such as R&D will become part of this dimension. The use of this model will encourage different stakeholders to identify desirable initiatives and practices.

This approach will boost business performance and taking sustainability to the next level (Muntean, 2018). Several KPIs will be used to gauge the effectiveness of this dimension. The first one will be the company’s ability to improve the production rate and increase the number of quality products that can deliver the intended sustainability goal. The second one is the implementation of evidence-based approaches that can support continuous growth and promotion of the intended agenda (Nita & Stefea, 2014). These aspects will ensure that the organization is on the right path.

Another dimension of the TBLS model is the process of leadership. In this case, managers and supervisors will be on the frontline to embrace the idea of transformational leadership. This kind of practice is associated with appropriate guidelines whereby different employees are encouraged to pursue sustainable concepts and developments. For instance, the finance department can be empowered to use green accounting. Workers will also be guided to recycle materials, utilize resources efficiently, and reduce their ecological footprints.

The company’s leaders will train their employees to take up numerous roles within the organization in order to ensure that every product promotes the integrity of the environment (Morrison, 2017). The major KPIs to consider will include positive or green accounting practices, empowered workers, and improvement in desirable practices such as recycling. Such outcomes should be recorded within six months. Leaders should also monitor such KPIs frequently and make appropriate changes in order to support the company’s agenda.

The fourth dimension is employee engagement. Morrison (2017) indicates that the involvement of workers in a given sustainability agenda is an idea that can deliver positive results. With appropriate or transformational leadership in place, the targeted employees in the company can be engaged and willing to support every strategy aimed at protecting the integrity of the environment and increasing profits (Kopnina & Blewitt, 2015).

The employees will be guided, trained, and equipped with adequate resources in order to support the idea. They will also engage in personal research to come up with innovative products that resonate with this agenda. The key performance indicators to monitor will include the responsiveness of different workers, the introduction of different initiatives that support the intended sustainability plan, and the reduction of constraints and resistance to the implemented change.

The fifth dimension revolves around the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This aspect supports the TBLS model because it makes it easier for a given organization to come up with the most appropriate image. For my company, this issue will be pursued diligently, whereby employees and stakeholders will be required to engage in positive practices that can promote sustainability. For example, marketers and distributors will use vehicles that do not pollute the environment. They will also encourage more customers to carry their recyclable paper bags (Dyllick & Muff, 2015).

The individuals will go further to complete numerous roles in different communities. Some of these actions will include planting trees and educating members of the community about the importance of environmental conservation. The major KPIs to consider include the effectiveness of logistical operations, the number of customers embracing the concept of recycling, and tree planting initiatives undertaken by different employees.

Success Factors

The identification of a powerful sustainability initiative cannot deliver positive results without a proper implementation strategy. Throughout the intended process, several factors will be considered in order to deliver timely results. The first one will be that of sustainable leadership. The managers will create the right vision and share it with their followers. They will go further to align the proposed business model with the above dimensions. Specifically, it will be appropriate for them to focus on every economic, social, and environmental aspect (Dyllick & Muff, 2015). The ultimate goal will be to ensure that every new product or process is aimed at satisfying the needs of different stakeholders.

The second consideration is the use of KPIs. As described earlier, each of the KPIs outlined above will be considered to minimize costs while at the same time maximizing performance. Every indicator will be used to inform the best practices or changes that can eventually support the agenda. Finally, continuous monitoring will be taken seriously to identify the major gaps and achievements at the company (Banfield et al., 2018). The key areas to consider include organizational culture, employee engagement, production of superior goods, logistical operations, and the idea of corporate social responsibility. These practices will definitely support the process and make the company sustainable.

Conclusion

This discussion has revealed that the targeted company can introduce a sustainability idea and support it using the five dimensions outlined in the TBLS model. This theory identifies evidence-based strategies that can be taken into consideration to introduce superior practices. Using this model, the organization will ensure that more employees are engaged and willing to manufacture new products that resonate with the intended objective. Sustainable leadership and the continuous utilization of KPIs are powerful initiatives that will deliver desirable results. Consequently, the organization will protect its stakeholders and the surrounding environment.

References

Banfield, P., Kay, R., & Royles, D. (2018). Introduction to human resource management (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Dyllick, T., & Muff, K. (2015). Clarifying the meaning of sustainable business: Introducing a typology from business-as-usual to true business sustainability. Organisation & Environment, 1, 1-19. Web.

Kopnina, H., & Blewitt, J. (2015). Sustainable business: Key issues. New York, NY: Routledge.

Morrison, J. (2017). The global environment: Challenges and responsibilities (4th ed.). London, UK: MacMillan.

Muntean, M. (2018). Business intelligence issues for sustainability projects. Sustainability, 10, 335-344. Web.

Nita, C. G., & Stefea, P. (2014). Cost control for business sustainability. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, 124, 307-311. Web.

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