Critical analysis of the issue
The sustainable approach to constituting business models has been majorly discussed in recent years. Despite its popularity, its success has been fairly limited, and the adjacent eco-practices “are insufficient in themselves to deliver the holistic changes necessary to achieve long-term social and environmental sustainability” (Bocken, et al., 2013, p. 42). However, the planet is in a state of emergency right now, as human society currently uses the resource equivalent to “1.5 planets” (Bocken, et al., 2013, p. 42). Evidently, raising awareness about sustainable, ecology-friendly, and innovative practices has already become a pressing issue that demands imminent measures to be taken.
While an increasing number of businesses are adopting sustainable patterns of management and production, these attempts are misrepresented. Even if sustainable businesses do exist, “the impact of their activities is not reflected in studies monitoring the state of the planet” (Dyllick and Muff, 2015, p. 1). This results in the big disconnect – a situation, where the current body of research does not reflect the actual practices of the companies accurately (Dyllick and Muff, 2015). Therefore, a paradigm shift is required not only in the internal structure of a company, but in the business’ eagerness to communicate about their victories and faults.
In essence, the current environmental situation, as well as the greater portion of the world’s most pressing problems, aligning with SDGs, are demanding of companies to be more accountable and transparent. Businesses are top contributors to climate change – since they are majorly concerned with industrial-level production scale while utilizing harmful and unsustainable approaches. Climate change is certainly one the main reasons companies and manufacturers need to be held accountable for their actions, as climate change affects multiple aspects of the environmental state, which certainly projects onto human society. Hunt and Watkiss (2011) explain climate change effects as being: sea level rise, extreme events on built infrastructure (“floods, windstorms, heat extremes”), effects on water availability, energy usage, and, undoubtingly, on human health (p. 15). Human actions, typically driven by profit, have disrupted the environmental stability that has been in place “for 10,000 years”, causing the installment of a new geological era – the Anthropocene (Rockstrom, 2009, p. 472). Despite its environmental effects being irreversible, climate change and environmental pollution, as well as carelessness in resource usage are the prime reasons for companies to be more effective, accountable and transparent about their actions.
Current Status
The SHSA is an organization which consists of likeminded individuals, all working towards an idea of enhancing people’s lives regardless of their age or medical condition. The staff members all value high the ideas of Compassion, Accountability, Reliability, Caring, and Well-Being – and these are not possible without a basis of trust and openness. Thus, the SHSA is able to achieve transparency, accountability and effectiveness through public policy, information accessibilities, public participation and also through staff training.
Recommendations
- Implementation of a system encouraging a responsible consumption of resources, such as water, energy and various goods (Bocken et al., 2013). This will enable the organization / community to align more with the ideals of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability paradigm.
- Then, one needs to address leadership in an organization or community, since it is the vector-defining aspect. It is imperative to check whether the leadership is concerned with ethical and sustainable approach for further development. It is also important in a sense that leadership defines how resources are managed, as “successful companies should never substitute the exploitation of natural capital” (Blowfield, 2013, p. 91). Thus, the leadership should be adjusted first-hand if one is pursuing ERS in their work.
- It is just as important to make sure that my personal values align with the SDGs, as it is only through honesty and transparency can a trustworthy relationship arise with the rest of its members. It is important to make sure that the core principle of a sustainable organization is followed – that is remaining honest with oneself and with people around.
Reference List
Blowfield, M, (2013) Business and sustainability. Oxford University Press, pp. 87-108.
Bocken, N. M. P. et al. (2013) ‘A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes.’ Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, pp. 42-56.
Dyllick, T. and Muff, K. (2015) ‘Clarifying the meaning of sustainable business: introducing a typology from business-as-usual to true business sustainability.’ Organizations & Environment, 29(2), pp. 156-174.
Hunt, A. and Watkiss, P. (2010) ‘Climate change impacts and adaptation in cities: a review of the literature.’ Climatic Change, 104, pp. 13-49.
Rockstrom, J. (2009) ‘A safe operating space for humanity’, Nature, 461, pp. 472-475.