Assignment 2: Essay



Assignment 2: Essay

What roles should business and government play in advancing sustainability debate? Should Governments make sustainability compulsory? If yes then why?

The sustainability debate has been one of the forefront debates in recent history. It has laid grounds and foundation for the debates and discussions where the main purpose is to create alternative frameworks based on sustainability. Sustainability debates are focused on the ecological balances and environmental factors which are directly connected to our social and economic system (Palmer et. al, 2005). The governing powers of our society which should address environmental issues as part of their responsibilities; indeed they have a responsibility towards the planet in which we live. Not looking at various horizons or dimensions making them directly or indirectly responsible for sustainable environment, only being a part of human being makes them responsible to save and protect the world from its deterioration. Government is responsible for the Looking at some of the sectors of the global economy, the responsibility to protect the environment from potential dangers goes directly to the public, private as well as the tertiary sectors. This can be objectified into two main segments i.e. state as well as business, specifically corporate governances of various large scale enterprises and medium sized businesses such as Fonterra Farmers (Hutchings, 2010). The actions of these sectors of our society help shape our lives, and social development indeed depends on it. Whatever activity we perform, affects the environment. And because of this aforementioned relationship, the development of social aspects of a society affects the environment surrounding us, either positively or negatively. Looking at the interdependence of the various elements of sustainability, it is clear that sustainability is one of the critical issues for business and government to address for the betterment of the society. According to a study conducted by UN, named as Accenture CEO Study, nintey percent of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) believe that sustainability is one of the factors which is crucial to their future business survival and success (Lacy et. al, 2010). It can be seen that there are many factors involved, yet there is a tendency by various governing bodies to make sustainability a mandatory and integral part of our society and businesses. Various textbooks, such as Samuelson and Nordhaus (2010) Wessels (2006) and Kew and Stredwick (2005) have suggested that economic sustainability is for the betterment of the society; global recession is a phenomenon which can happen every few years and thus, it is essential that sustainable measures are undertaken for it. The various sectors of the economy play an important role in the development of our society and improvement of the general quality of life. There are various aspects of sustainability and environmental factors taught in schools colleges and even at the university level (Willard, 2004). Sustainability has gathered momentum over the years and most educational institutions are looking at providing various sort of exercises and giving practical dilemmas to students in order to nurture the importance of sustainability ...