The issue of sustainability concerns the business environment in all its dimensions: social, economic, cultural, and ecological (Baranauskas and Raišienė, 2022; Fu, 2019). A company may not consider achieving sustainability strategically important, but the need for sustainable existence will still determine how it conducts business (Yang, 2018). The Haier company founded in 1984 produces refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, air purifiers, gas and solar water heaters, heating stoves, televisions, gas and electric stoves, dishwashers, and other goods of daily use (Chen et al., 2020; Hu, 2022; Li et al., 2022a). According to the report, the primary strategy of the enterprise is not only the production of high-quality household appliances and electronics but also the “ecosystem business strategy” (Haier Smart Home Co., LTD. Report, 2021). To consider approaches to generating income from sustainable development, a large company Haier Smart Home Co., LTD, was taken.
The corporate social responsibility of the Haier company consists of various aspects. Social assistance includes financial aid to those in need (Zhang, 2022). Haier’s corporate social responsibility is also aimed at improving the environment, for example, the so-called “green production”, “green management”, environmental processing, and logistics (Kang et al., 2021). Each stage of the company’s eco-friendly work also provides a strategy for environmental protection, social sphere, and management. The triple bottom line of the company is in people. That is, the company hires professionals from all over the world and also cares about the health of its consumers (Jie and Xugui, 2020). In addition, the triple bottom line of the company includes Profits and the Planet. The Profits is not only the producer’s income from sales, but also part of it is sent to help those in need, and the company itself takes care of the Planet through the production of eco-friendly goods.
As for the approach to benefit from sustainability financially, Haier profits from sustainability by making production more cost-effective through energy use optimization initiatives. Between 2014 and 2018, Haier expanded its 4C green strategy, which enabled it to reduce the amount of non-renewable energy required for each production unit by more than 16% and achieve a drastic decline in CO2 emissions (Li et al., 2022b). Decreased energy consumption helped reduce overall energy costs for Haier and minimize energy wastage, which had favorable impacts on profitability since product prices remained the same. In Haier’s case, energy use sustainability contributed to promoting annual revenue growth from 88 bln RMB in 2014 to 183 bln RMB in 2018, and the profits continue to show moderate upward trends today (Li et al., 2022b). Reputational gains stemming from reduced CO2 emissions could also have contributed to profits by making Haier a more attractive commercial partner.
Haier’s sustainability-related efforts include incorporating the GRI and ESG frameworks. For ESG governance-related strategies, Haier has established the internal ESG committee and designed a five-element ESG plan with sub-strategies peculiar to commercial ethics, sustainable products and operations, inclusivity, and community investment (Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd, 2021). Haier has recently integrated ESG into supplier selection strategies and applied the ESG-informed self-commitment/on-site/creditability supplier evaluation framework to add over 70 new suppliers in 2021; within the next three years, Haier is planning to expand all ESG policies to the overseas self-operated manufacturing locations (Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd, 2021). Haier observes many GRI standards as one of the data compilation methodologies in reporting its ESG progress; specifically, the GRI 102, 201-205, 302-303, 412-414, and other items, including those peculiar to energy use, water, waste, and overall environmental compliance, are directly addressed in its reports (Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd, 2021). Some GRI standards in the Environmental section are, however, not covered in ESG reports; these include standards 301 and 304, dealing with production materials and biodiversity, respectively (Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd, 2021). Overall, the corporation’s efforts in implementing ESG and following GRI can be assessed as intensive.
Haier Smart Home Co., LTD has established the practice of regularly optimizing the leadership structure, which consists of improving internal functioning and control by following many laws and regulations (Wang and Shu, 2020). Leadership in the company consists of a general meeting of shareholders, as well as directors who are heads of various divisions. In addition, the company’s leaders include the supervisory board and management (Sun and Hong, 2022). Such a leadership system allows the company to control the work of all departments and distributes all powers and responsibilities between each member of the company in an accessible way. Furthermore, Haier Smart Home Co., LTD has a system of checks and balances that is the guarantor of the successful management of the company (Lee et al., 2021). This leadership practice allows company members to distribute roles among all participants in the business process effectively and also gives them an opportunity to be successful in designing the field of sustainable development policy.
Haier’s sustainable development practice is one of the strongest and most innovative. This is because the innovations that the company has been aimed at creating a unique ecosystem that contributes to sustainable development and the growth of its attractiveness (Yu, 2018). Innovations support sustainable development through which social welfare improves and active economic growth occurs (Chen et al., 2020). In turn, sustainable development also has a positive impact on innovation and helps maintain the company’s competitive advantages. Haier Smart Home Co., LTD has gone a significant way to eventually come to the realization of the importance of sustainable development (Zhao et al., 2019). Nevertheless, thanks to innovation and development, the company was able to succeed and become one of the leaders of the global market.
At Haier, the product lifecycle is focused on becoming a reliable part of any person’s home and taking into account various environmental factors. These environmental factors are considered at every stage of design, development, production and processing, which reduces the impact on the environment (Liu et al., 2020). Currently, the company is studying all the probabilities of a negative impact on the environment and is looking for various ways to reduce or eliminate this impact (Lv et al., 2021). Moreover, unique materials are used for production, which in themselves do not cause significant harm to the environment, but also make it possible to later recycle for secondary use (Jiang et al., 2019). In addition, the company uses remarkable technologies that reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The company uses energy and water-saving technologies, which also have a beneficial effect on the environment.
All the efforts that the company makes in order to achieve significant results in sustainable development are classified on the basis of finished products, as well as through the purchase of high-quality eco-friendly materials (Gou and Zhou, 2021). The company’s report describes that with the help of partners, Haier works with unique foaming materials, and by the usage of remarkable technologies, creates its products and reduces the potential of global warming (Haier Smart Home Co., LTD. Report, 2021). This helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increases energy efficiency. In addition, biomaterials that are authorized by special committees are used for better processing.
The organization has made significant efforts to reach a new level, that is, the sustainable development. The transformational aspects consisted of the transition to unique equipment for the manufacture of their goods, as well as to new initially unexplored materials for goods (Li et al., 2022b). With the help of the leadership and all employees of the company’s top administration managed to conclude partnership agreements with companies that are suppliers of eco-friendly biomaterials. It subsequently helped to switch to production that is safe for the surrounding environment (Khan et al., 2021). Leadership also played a significant role in the selection of personnel who, because of their desire to protect nature, made steps to make the production and sale of goods as environmentally friendly as possible.
Critically considering the changes that have taken place in the company with the advent of the sustainable development strategy, it can be noted that, undoubtedly, production has become safer for nature (Yuyue and Haibing, 2020). The reduction of harmful emissions, the use of materials that can be used in recycling, and energy and water conservation have helped one of the significant manufacturers of household appliances to be the best in its segment (Zhong et al., 2022). Haier has become a role model for other companies in the related field. Even though the company has changed the materials from which the equipment is made, the quality still remains high, and people have become more loyal to the manufacturer.
As a recommendation for further sustainable development practices, a strategy for recycling items, for example, used goods such as computers and other electronics, can be used. That is, consumers will bring old goods to the company and receive discounts for them, and the company itself will use these goods for processing and further production of products (Fang, 2017). This will bring significant benefits to the company itself, as they will have almost ready-made material for production. Furthermore, people will also be able to see that among such manufacturers of equipment, there are those who care about the environment (Lewis et al., 2021). In addition, due to discounts on new products, people will actively purchase Haier products, which will also bring additional income.
Recommendations such as recycling of chemical waste, working with partners and suppliers who are engaged in the sale of only environmentally friendly materials for the collection of machinery. Moreover, the development of Sustainability Work Policies can also be used for the Haier enterprise (Zhang et al., 2019). The development of Sustainability Work Policies is primarily aimed at ensuring that company members comply with internal rules, for example, turning off computers when they are not in use, and saving water also if not needed (Singha, 2019). Moreover, the manufacturer can write in the instructions for household appliances about the recommendation to turn off things that are not used by power sources. Each of these recommendations will allow the company to develop even more actively and become more competitive than other manufacturers of household appliances and electronics (Ye and Dong, 2019). In the future, the company will be able to use various ways of self-improvement, but at this stage, there are already many ways to follow a sustainable development strategy.
In conclusion, Haier’s strategic goal of this company is sustainable development by manufacturing its products from eco-friendly materials. This report provides recommendations for the company that will help in the future to achieve the goals of sustainable development. The company allows people to save the planet, as well as their health, and also, due to the fact that this company takes an active part in charity.
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