Peer-reviewed business journal articles were studied for information, and how the concept is used at present date.
A summarization of eight different articles used for the inquiry are presented, followed by a conclusion.
“Sustainable Development and its Indicators: Through a (Planner’s) Glass Darkly” Article 1. Summary
The article by Briassoullis talks about the utility of indicators used in planning for sustainable development, as decision support instrument. Key concepts and critical issues when planning for sustainable development are discussed. Sustainable development is conceived as a state of powerful equilibrium between “societal demand for a preferred development path and the supply of environmental and economic goods and services to meet this demand.” The issues of “needs, perimeters on development, the future, inter- and intra-generational equity and contemporary gratification of economic efficiency, environmental protection and social justice goals” are emphasized. Some of the critical issues mentioned in this article, revolve around a set of questions, (who, what, where, when, why, and how). There are concerns regarding the time frame that reflects upon these questions, the “optimal size of the relevant spatial system” is not easy to determine, and the accuracy in answering these questions. Effective planning for sustainable development is discussed as well in this journal. The direction of change and targets need to be specific, in order to plan for the transition to sustainability; otherwise planning becomes complicated. In planning for sustainable development, there are four functions that are discussed in the journal: (1) the description/explanation of state conditions of environmental receptors and of important resources; (2) impact assessment/evaluation of the effect of particular actions; (3) or to predict future conditions under alternative scenarios; and (4) monitoring to keep track of changes in the state of spatial systems and to support appropriate corrective actions. This article also reviewed the development in the last two decades of indicators. This journal determines that the idea of indicators having a sound and stable contribution to planning is long ways to go, for sustainable development is poorly defined; therefore, the journal points them towards “context-specific theories of planning situations which frame their conceptualization, operationalization and use.
“Environmental Capital: An Information Core to Public Participation in Strategic and Operational Decisions-The Example of River ‘Best Practice’ Projects” Article 2. Summary
The second article by Newson and Chalk discuss how sustainable development and answer to economic problems are dependent on information and its translation into usable knowledge. The achievement of sustainable development depends on three elements: “ecosystem understanding, economic evaluation of environmental assets and widespread public participation.” Communities, which are affected by these problems, are brought in to be involved with the development of strategy and the delivery of these plans by means of management and operations. The journal article uses the River Basin Management in the European Union (EU), under Water Framework Directive (WFD) as a case study to better explain sustainable development. Natural capital, ‘Environmental capital’ and ‘Quality of Life Capital’ are discussed. Natural capital is a tool used to help in decision making; it connects “scientific assessments of environmental problems and the emerging body of economic techniques.” To promote ‘best practice’ in managing the river basin units for example, a decision-making framework is critical in practical community-based projects. The rate of change is from a reactive to adaptive management and decision support systems, but there needs to be a system created where adaptive, preferably than reactive, management, sustained with changes and analysis for strategies and operations. Importance of providing use of interdisciplinary techniques within a participatory framework is an official requirement, as provided as an example by the EU WFD.
Environmental capital, also known as Quality of Life Capital, is applied to information management in the Upper Wharfedale case. Through this case, they portray how one reaches immediate and long term actions. In this case it was done through basic environmental surveys, consultation, strategy formulation and use of strategy; both the publics and professionals were involved. Another case that was mentioned in this journal was of Upper Coquetdale. Quality of Life Capital approach was used in this case as well, but had a dissimilar effect than the Upper Wharfedale case. It is important for participation in an information strategy, and that was one of the many things lacking in the latter case. Sustainable development needs monitoring, which is costly but important. This was seen in the Upper Wharfedale case through public participation.
“Sustainable Development Adds Value to Buisness, Yet Few Have Captured That Value” Article 3. Summary
Sustainable development refers to the global push for companies to build their long-term business strategies around three interconnected goals. These include economic growth, environmental excellence, and social responsibility. Traditional issues related include such topics relating to global climate change, decreasing biodiversity, deforestation, population growth, and the social and environmental challenges created by the globalization of industry. To understand and manage the impact of their products wherever they are used, companies may need to be looking beyond the borders of their own facilities. Sustainable growth is important in building a better public image and improving social/ethical performance, which ensures a license to operate, innovate, and grow.
Arthur D. Little Inc, a global management consulting firm recently conducted a sustainable development and business survey of executives in Europe and North America. 83% of respondents believe that companies can develop real business value and economic growth from sustainable development initiatives. However, the results showed that most companies were only making progress implementing such strategies in traditional environmental areas such as improving environmental performance, preventing pollution, and increasing energy efficiency. There has been little progress made in implementing such strategies towards more progressive concepts of sustainability. These include for example cost accounting, industrial ecology and or performance measurement. To make progress, the respondents say that the first step is getting the vision and strategy aligned within their companies. They also indicate that the need for technology investment ranks high. The survey shows that significantly more European companies are well down the road to integrating sustainable development into strategy and operations than North American companies. The figures are 22% of total European compared to the 13% for North America companies. Most respondents believe that product design and R&D harbor the greatest promise for companies to reach their sustainability goals. 57% of all respondents point to product design as opposed to the 35% for manufacturing.
According to Stephen Poltorzycki, vice president of Arthur D. Little: "Many companies are still focused on short-term and efficiency-driven environmental initiatives because they know how to do them extremely well, and they are relatively easy to implement. These include proven ways to cut back on energy and water use, reduce emissions, and monitor facilities for compliance. However, a significant number of companies that see themselves as well on the way to meeting sustainable development goals report real progress in more innovative, business-focused areas. Examples included closed-loop manufacturing systems, industrial ecology, organizational learning, and design for environment. These advanced sustainable development opportunities can deliver high business value and help companies outpace competitors."
“Citrix Systems-A Global Company With a Mission: Poised for Strategic and Sustainable Growth” Article 4. Summary
The company Citrix Systems Inc is the global leader in access infrastructure solutions, and also is one of the top 15 software companies in the world. Its headquarters is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with additional offices in 22 countries around the world and conducts over half of its business outside the United States. Citrix had 2003 revenues of $588 million, and has now set an aggressive goal of growing to $1 billion in revenues and positioning itself for sustainable growth. Citrix aspires to own the access infrastructure software market, whose potential is estimated at 8-10 billion dollars, and the company is building out its MetaFrame Access Suite of software in order to do so.
Citrix main strengths include the use of technology to meet growth objectives. An important part of Citrix's strategic growth plan is to use systems to scale the business, instead of simply increasing the workforce. Citrix wants to reduce costs within its core business operations and redirect those resources to growth areas. One way to accomplish this is to put automated business processes in place. These automated processes are built to reduce workload, accelerate cycles, and provide enhanced support to customers, distributors, resellers, business partners, and other groups with which the company interacts.
Citrix’s Global Systems Integration Project is a project also to aid its bid for strategic and sustainable growth. Citrix sells its software through an indirect channel of distributors, value-added resellers, and integrators. At the time of 2004, Citrix had 120 distributors worldwide. All 120 distributors send purchase orders to the company by either fax or email, and then from there Citrix employs people to process those orders. These employees must manually check orders for accuracy, distribute them to obtain various signature approvals, and then input them into the company's SAP system. This makes for a very highly inefficient process that is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Typically, an order works its way upstream from the purchasing agent, to the distributor manager, and then to the order entry team at Citrix corporate headquarters. Once an answer is obtained, the process is reversed, and the order slowly works its way back downstream.
With these new systems in place, the all-digital infrastructure will enable point-of-sale reporting and inventory reporting on distributors. As Citrix brings partners online, the Citrix team can see exactly what is happening in real time. At the close of each business day, the team will know whether demand is going up or down, and how to adjust and react to trends and changes. The system will show all of Citrix management whether marketing initiatives are working and whether new products are taking off.
“Business Strategy for Sustainable Development by the International Institute for Sustainable Development” Article 5 Summary
For many business executives sustainable development is a new idea. For the business enterprise, sustainable development means adopting business strategies and activities that meet needs of the stakeholders and the enterprise while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future. This definition is showing us the needs for business enterprises’ dependence on human and natural resources in addition to physical and financial capital. Business must be socially aware of the need for sustainable development not only for environmental protection and socially wellbeing but for certain economic goals a business may want to achieve. Many companies are starting to show positive changes in how they handle sustainable development. They are starting to realize that sustainable development strategies are making good business sense. An example pointed out was 3M manufacturing plant which scaled down a wastewater treatment operation by half, by simple running cool water through its factories repeatedly instead of discharging it after only one use. McDonald’s has gone from paper to plastic.
Below are 7 new ideas for management systems to incorporate the concept of sustainable development into the policies and processes of the business. It followed sustainable development policies:
1. Perform Stakeholders Analysis
-analysis of who is indirectly and directly affected by business operations.
-allows for better corporate accountably
-allows for issues, concerns and information needs for the stakeholders to address in
regard to sustainable development activities
2. Set sustainable development policies and objectives
3. Design and execute an implementation plan
4. Develop a supportive corporate culture
5. Develop measures and standards of performance
6. Prepare Reports Outlining Management’s Policies
7.Enhance Internal Monitoring Processes
In the small Business world, taking on sustainable development in order to keep up in the business world is essential. Once the expertise and resource issues have been addressed, the generally less formal management structures found in small businesses can be a positive advantage. There will be fewer people to educate within the enterprise, and there will usually be less resistance to change. In addition, there are usually no formal committees to whom the new strategies must be ‘sold’, and no lengthy review and approval procedures to slow the process down. The ‘hands on’ management style common to smaller businesses can also aid the monitoring function: management will be well positioned to spot problems and to
make the necessary adjustments. The road to implementing a sustainable development philosophy will be different for smaller businesses, but with ingenuity, perseverance and cooperation, they can achieve the desired result.
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT; Why Unsustainable Is High-Risk Management; Sustainable management might now be mainstream business theory but there is still widespread uncertainty in the New Zealand business community about what it means. For those in doubt it is time to wise up or risk being caught short by regulatory requirements or rapid market shifts Article 8 Summary
In this article the author puts forth ideas of how unaware the business community is in regards to proper sustainable development policies. Organizations' awareness of sustainable management issues is "often initially raised via risk management channels" the author says. Key risks include increasing regulatory constraints. Public policy is moving from, "the taxation of goods to the taxation of bads". In other words, costs will be allocated according to the 'pollute and pay' principle. In both first world and developing nations companies, individual executives are increasingly being held to account for damaging the environment. The author also points out that many companies find sustainable development not all that important or a concern. She mentions that few companies take their environmental impacts particularly seriously. Only 12% regarded the environment as a material business risk. The author believes directors and managers must factor it into their decision-making. "There is a strong consensus that climate change is real. The global business community is increasingly understanding and acting on this message. "Companies still make significant investment decisions based on the assumption that "the climate system will behave pretty much as it has done since records have been kept”.” But,"says author, "this assumption is no longer valid.” Public companies fail to appreciate how quickly the market reacts once a risk is recognized. The author suggests a 5-step program for businesses to identify risks. 1. Build corporate knowledge - ensure there is a broad understanding of climate change within the business, especially at senior management level. 2. Identify business impacts. 3. Develop strategic response. 4. Implement. 5. Review and report. Sustainability risk should be managed like any other significant risk management issue. The article concludes by saying that not all companies disregard sustainable development regulations. Many companies are taking the initiative to conduct sustainable development policies.
REFERENCES
Briassoulis, Helen. “Sustainable Development and its Indicators: Through a (Planner’s) Glass Darkly.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management (2001): 409-427 pp. Online. 18 February 2005.
Available
Chalk, Liz & Malcom Newson. “Environmental Capital: An Information Core to Public Participation in Strategic Operational Decisions-The Example of River ‘Best Practice’ Projects.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management (2004): 899-920 pp. Online. 18 February 2005.
Available
International Institute for Sustainable Development. “Business Strategy for Sustainable Development: Leadership and Accountability for the 90s.” Deloitte and Touche and the World Business Council: Pg.1-19 Online
