Sustainability Initiatives and Economic Regulations

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Sustainability Initiatives as an Integral Part of the Contemporary Economic Environment

The principle of sustainability is far from being new; however, it has firmly cemented itself in the context of the 21^st-century economy and gained new shades of meaning. Departing from the traditional interpretation of sustainability is addressing purely environmental concerns, the contemporary notion thereof in the realm of the global economy typically implies managing the risks associated with financial and social factors as well (McGullough, 2014).

Creating a foil for more reasonable use of resources by attempting at changing people’s values and their perception of corporate assets, the sustainability framework can be viewed as outstandingly useful in the wake of the global economy era, where the cultural and social issues are equally important to the financial and economic ones in the business realm. However, it would be wrong to assume that the principles of sustainability, especially in its narrow environmentalist interpretation, factor into the contemporary economic environment flawlessly.

Quite on the contrary, since the philosophy of sustainability and the business-related objectives often serve to meet different goals, they turn out to be not quite compatible. As a result, the regulatory requirements set in the global market play the role of restrictions of environmentally dangerous activities and are supposed to boost environmentalism-geared initiatives. However, despite the positive intent on which these initiatives are based, their aggressive promotion may backfire since people’s attitude toward the problem must be changed first. Therefore, the reinforcement of responsibility among the stakeholders and the focus on factoring the essential principles of sustainability in the framework

Current Sustainability Initiatives: What Can Be Done to Improve the Situation

According to the Saudi Arabian Vision 2030, the focus on preserving the biodiversity of the state intact and creating prerequisites for significant improvement in the environment of the state, including the restoration of green areas, must be deemed as the basis for the choice of business strategies (Albanawi, 2015). The state authorities are geared toward creating the environment in which more sustainable use of the available resources is a possibility, and in which pollution rates are bound to their minimum levels.

Even though a range of objectives set in the said programs seems very hard to attain, with a due effort, the programs can be completed. The Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative is currently one of the most commonly known projects geared toward the redesign of the contemporary business landscape and making the corporate strategies more environmentally-friendly. By definition, the program aligns with the Vision-2021, which concerns encompassing the opportunities for preserving the natural resources and using them wisely. What makes the project stand out of the rest of similar ones, however, is its focus on building the global community in which change will become a possibility:

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Ministry of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched in January 2012 a long-term national initiative to build a green economy in the UAE under the slogan A Green Economy for Sustainable Development. Under this initiative, the UAE seeks to become a global hub and a successful model of the new green economy to enhance the country’s competitiveness and sustainability of its development and preserve its environment for future generations. (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Environment and Water, 2016, para. 4)

In other words, the project is aimed at inviting other states to join Saudi Arabia in its quest for preserving the environment. At the same time, it allows the business to develop. It is also quite peculiar that the suggested framework includes six directions in which the further course of actions should be directed. Particularly, the significance of the green economy, green investment, green city, green life, green technologies, and climate change is stressed.

Another Saudi Arabian initiative aimed at increasing the sustainability levels is SITES (Sustainable Sites Initiative). SITES is aimed at encouraging the residents of Saudi Arabia to consider the use of alternative sources of energy as opposed to oil. The said proposition seems rather legitimate because oil is a finite product and, therefore, its resources are going to be exhausted sooner or later. The program ends in 2028 when it is expected to carry out a smooth transition from an oil-based energy industry to the clean one. The focus on the green economy that the initiative promotes is, therefore, a side note to the idea of the economic necessity to transfer to a more reliable source of energy (Green, 2015).

In the long run, the suggested program seems more promising than the former because of the connection that it makes to the societal and culture-related factors. Even though appealing to people’s common sense and their need for self-preservation is the first step toward handling the environment-related issue, it is also crucial to realize that the said change will require altering people’s perception of the issue. In other words, how people view the problem due to their culture, traditions, upbringing, philosophy, etc., needs to be challenged so that they could notice the problems in the traditional use of resources. As a result, they are less likely to take the environmental issues for granted and, instead, are bound to pay much more attention to the issues that can currently be observed in the identified realm.

Regulatory Requirements in the Context of the Saudi Arabian Economy

The Saudi Arabian economic environment is famous for keeping its focus on environmental issues. Particularly, there are a plethora of regulations that compel organizations to make sure that all possible avenues for waste reduction have been taken. Similarly, the contemporary Saudi Arabian regulations about environmentalism address the issue of sustainable use of resources. For instance, the so-called Green Decree that was passed in 2014 is bound to have a noticeable effect on the sustainability levels since it is supposed to enhance the design of sustainability-related initiatives.

The Ambient Air standard of 2012 is supposed to help manage the problems associated with the increase in air pollution levels. Despite the focus on the design of vehicles that contribute to a drop in pollution levels, the issue of transportation remains a problem for designing the appropriate green framework. Therefore, the Ambient Air Standard, which prohibits any activities that lead to a drop in- or outdoor air quality, clearly is a step in the right direction. It creates the foundation for a different approach toward the use of resources and points to the issues that most people are likely to take for granted (Chakibi, 2013).

Most of the current Saudi Arabian initiatives aimed at addressing a specific environmental issue are, therefore, of a significantly positive effect. However, there is an issue with most of these regulations that might pass unnoticed at first, yet it likely to grow into a major problem as it progresses. Particularly, none of these laws and programs contributes to a change in the social standards of behavior. In other words, people do not develop an intrinsic understanding of why it is necessary to make sure that the existing resources should be used sparingly, or why the global warming process will inevitably lead to negative outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial to create an initiative that will convince people to follow the suggested rules consciously and, thus, develop a responsible attitude toward the subject matter.

Positive Effects: Why the Movement Has to Be Encourage

The beneficial outcomes of promoting the principles of environmentalism to companies on a legal level are too many to count. The first and most obvious, the design of the uniform standards that all organizations will have to follow becomes a possibility. As a result, it will be much more complicated for Saudi Arabian firms to seek out the leeway for avoiding their environmental responsibilities. Furthermore, the issue of waste management is finally recognized and addressed. Although the problem has been brewing for quite a while, it has not been recognized as a pressing issue up until recently. The uniform legal requirements that Saudi Arabian companies will have to meet nowadays, thus, serve as the foil for building a uniform waste management approach that will lead to safer and more efficient disposal thereof.

There is no secret that the current tendency for Saudi Arabian companies to dismiss recycling and consider the use of landfills as the means of disposing of the waste occurring during the production process affects the environment most negatively. The increase in the solid waste stored in landfills is bound to lead to faster contamination of groundwater and, therefore, a drastic and inevitable change in the local ecosystems (Alexander, 2016). The identified change, in its turn, will cause an environmental catastrophe due to the possible extinction of a range of species and the increase in the number of threats to the health of people living in the vicinity. Consequently, the importance of the regulations that adders the issue of environmentalism in organizations, and especially the issue of waste management, is not to be underestimated (Alshuwaikhat, Adenle, & Saghir, 2016).

Negative Effects: What Should Be Taken with a Few Grains of Salt

However, it should be borne in mind that, for changes to have any tangible effect on the society and the well-being of the target population, a significant amount of time must pass. Enhancing the process artificially without giving it enough thought is likely to lead to no long-term effects, at best, and aggravate the situation, at worst. For instance, the regulation mentioned above, which compels the Saudi Arabian companies to redesign their framework to meet the new requirements within the next five years may harm the target members of the population even worse. For the necessary improvements to occur, one must eradicate the faulty ideas that provide the foundation for modern organizations’ functioning. Without a change in people’s and companies’ values, positive long-term effects will not be a possibility. As a result, as soon as a loophole in the current regulations is located, the managers of organizations are likely to resume engaging in the activities that harm the environment.

In the scenario described above, it was not the message that was wrong but how it was delivered. In other words, prerequisites for change must be created in the Saudi Arabian business society; otherwise, no beneficial outcome will occur. Particularly, how business stakeholders, including companies, suppliers, investors, etc., view the issue of sustainability needs to be altered. Unless people realize the reason for what they consider to be restrictions to exist, they will be unable to contribute to the promotion of sustainable use of resources and the creation of a new and greener world. The process of promoting the significance of sustainability may start with stressing the benefits of reducing waste for businesses in Saudi Arabia.

By clarifying that compliance with foundational environmental rules and regulations will also lead to an increase in the firm’s profit margins, one is likely to convince the leaders of organizations to alter their current corporate values and focus on the idea of sustainability, environmentalism, and the Corporate Social Responsibility enhancement. When addressing the issue of conveying the message properly, one should view the initiative regarding the inclusive green economy mentioned above as an example. Even though the scope of the project is very large, and its implementation will require decades, it still captures the essential factors that affect the promotion of a sustainable framework in the context of the business environment. Particularly, a change in people’s minds, including the creation of a green city, i.e., the environment in which people will view sustainability as part and parcel of their life, should be listed among the advantages of the suggested program.

Conclusion: Reducing the Negative Effects of Regulatory Requirements on Sustainability Initiatives

No matter how strange it might sound, while being based on admittedly good intentions, the current regulatory requirements may trigger negative effects due to the lack of philosophical foil that companies could use to adopt them successfully. The usage of the environmental and sustainability-oriented rules and laws in Saudi Arabia are quite evident; however, persuading companies to incorporate them into their framework will require a change in the corporate values. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that the current sustainability-related regulations used in Saudi Arabia as the means of enhancing the promotion of environmentalism and rational usage of resources should be coupled with the necessity to advocate the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and a change in the corporate values.

By stressing the necessity to enhance openness and clarity of the company’s decisions regarding the allocation of resources, waste management, production processes, etc., one will be able to build awareness among the Saudi Arabian business people and, therefore, contribute to the increase in the efficacy of the environmental regulations. In other words, Saudi Arabia will benefit from environmental and sustainability-related initiatives. While some of the latter may not be perfect and require further polishing, they, nevertheless, provide the foundation for a further positive change in people’s attitude toward the use of resources. Also, the shift toward the use of different forms of energy is bound to prompt innovative solutions that will make a difference.

References

Albanawi, N. I. (2015). Saudi Arabian green economy infrastructure: Barriers, strategies & opportunity – an analysis. International Journal of Business and Economic Development, 3(3), 90-96.

Alexander, A. (2016). Building green transport ecosystem in the operation of logistics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Operations and Logistics Management, 5(1), 42-54.

Alshuwaikhat, H. M., Adenle, Y. A., & Saghir, B. (2016). Sustainability assessment of higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 8(8), 750.

Chakibi, S. (2013). Saudi Arabia releases 9 new environmental laws. Web.

Green, J. (2015). Saudi Arabia plots out a sustainable future. Web.

McGullough, D. G. (2014). Saudi Arabia’s green decree brings hopes of sustainability. The Guardian. Web.

Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Environment and Water. (2016). Building inclusive green economies: The UAE approach. Web.

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