Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Sustainability - Essay Example Sustainability is the agenda of leading companies and it has gained recognition as a driver for strategic product as well as business innovation (Deloitte n.d, p.1). A business that considers the change as an opportunity and come up with innovative products as well as business models to thrive in a sustainable way have high likelihood of reaping advantage, be relevant to consumers, capture market share and operate efficiently in a quick transforming world. Firms face increased expectations from investors and consumers regarding their way of operations; therefore, companies are keen to be considered as accountable corporate citizens. It is expected in the future that consumers will place strong emphasis on convenience, price and quality in making decisions regarding their shopping. In the increasingly transparent world with high number of consumers digitally empowered since information on brands and products is regularly found on and discussed in blogs, forums and in social media site s. Companies that never respond to the development increase their likelihood of being in the spotlight for the wrong reasons since brands and businesses have little control over the internet (Berns et al 2009, pp.20-26). Business proactivity, involvement and the changing consumer attitudes to sustainability increase demand for products and services responsibly produced. Therefore, the organization has to respond to the changing patterns this can be achieved through integrating sustainability within the company’s supply chain and development products that enable consumers to buy ethically. Companies neglecting to embrace the changes face the risk of their products being less relevant to the sentiment of consumers and expensive. Social media platforms like twitter and facebook ensure corporate transparency; therefore, companies have increased pressure to meet the sophisticated corporate transparency and accountability standards. In the current’s information society, corp orate offences can no longer be ignored and bad behaviour has permanent reputational as well as financial repercussions for corporations. Young people are increasingly aware of the impact they have through their buying choices thus, they buy from companies that stand for more than profit (Deloitte n.d, pp.3). Sustainability has been one of the business’s urgent mandates thus stakeholder management perspective is essential since it requires managers to establish various groups or individuals with stakes in the firm as well as incorporating stakeholders concerns into the firm’s day-to-day operations and strategic plans. Sustainability mandate has attracted the attention of leaders in business since it is the goal of business ethics. With the challenge of globalization, considerable interest is directed toward development of ways for addressing the different impacts of companies in society (Crane, Dirk and Andrew 2007, p.254-263). Most of the impacts are far-reaching such as the environmental pollution resulting from transportation, production and use of products like refrigerators and cars. Whenever in society a corporation has to engage in the debate concerning its social role in order to ensure that it becomes a major contributor of sustainability instead of being a social and environmental predator that undermines the world. Therefore, the company has a huge opportunity of