Opinion
Why It Pays for Businesses to Boost Sustainability
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Taking this broader view of business sustainability is important both because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it serves a company’s long-term commercial interests.
By Michael Posner
In recent weeks, Samsung suspended its operations with a key supplier in China because of allegations of child labour in its production facilities. Major oil companies faced environmental challenges in the fields where they operate, from the Amazon to West Africa, and internet providers continued to respond to intense public pressures to enhance privacy protections for their users in the aftermath of the Snowden/NSA disclosures. These are but a few current examples of the challenges business leaders face as they seek to build sustainable business models.
Business sustainability is essential to the long-term prosperity of global companies. But what does this mean in practice and how is sustainability defined? Today’s smart business leaders know that they are operating in a fishbowl, where everything they do is on display and social media enables news and information to travel around the world in seconds. They are also operating in a world where many governments are failing to provide a stable, secure environment for businesses to operate. To address these challenges, CEOs are recognizing that they need to incorporate broader principles of sustainability in their everyday business decisions. This is not simply a matter of doing the right thing, it’s smart business.
Leading global companies are therefore developing practical standards and metrics to help apply these principles. These sustainability principles serve to maximize their opportunities and to minimize the negative impact their core operations have on the environment, and the communities and economies in places where they operate.
Read the full article and White Paper on Business Sustainability as published by World Economic Forum
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Michael Posner is a Professor of Business and Society and Co-Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
Business sustainability is essential to the long-term prosperity of global companies. But what does this mean in practice and how is sustainability defined? Today’s smart business leaders know that they are operating in a fishbowl, where everything they do is on display and social media enables news and information to travel around the world in seconds. They are also operating in a world where many governments are failing to provide a stable, secure environment for businesses to operate. To address these challenges, CEOs are recognizing that they need to incorporate broader principles of sustainability in their everyday business decisions. This is not simply a matter of doing the right thing, it’s smart business.
Leading global companies are therefore developing practical standards and metrics to help apply these principles. These sustainability principles serve to maximize their opportunities and to minimize the negative impact their core operations have on the environment, and the communities and economies in places where they operate.
Read the full article and White Paper on Business Sustainability as published by World Economic Forum
___
Michael Posner is a Professor of Business and Society and Co-Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.