SUSTAINABILITY

The Role of Sustainability in International Operations

The Role of Sustainability in International Operations

Summary

The role of sustainable development is one of the most essential concepts being used in businesses today but for many new business managers this is a new concept. The reason they are not aware of this concept is because managers are mainly focused on achieving the organizational goals without considering about sustainability.

Organizations need to understand the value of nature and human capital because without these two factors no organization can exist. If sustainable development is regarded, the world can develop in terms of quality of life and the role of the organization as a corporate citizen.

The reason organizations are considered corporate citizens is that since they make use of the resources of a locality, they are equally responsible for its development and upkeep. This leads to the understanding that organizations are just like citizens and it is their duty to help in the development of the country (Cavusgil, Knight, and Reisenberger , 2011, pp. 31-35).

In the construction industry, Wates has adopted a sustainable approach in its international expansion. Every project it undertakes is now more focused on protecting the environment because it believes that the environment needs to be protected in order for humans to enjoy a safe future. Although caring for the environment leads to a reduction in the profitability of the organization, Wates believes that such decisions are necessary in order to ensure that it does not face any problems from citizens and other groups.

Introduction

Sustainable development is associated with the business activities and strategies that meet the needs of the stakeholders as well as the business. All this is done while enhancing, sustaining, and protecting natural and human resources. It is given high importance due to the fact that the factors used by every business are scarce and care needs to be taken to ensure that they last for the future.

The definition of sustainable development highlights the fact that every organization is directly dependent on human and natural resources as well as financial capital. Therefore, there needs to be a balance in the utilization of these factors as economic activity can be interrupted in the mismanagement of these factors (Dlabay and Calvert, 2010, pp. 24-26).

It is common for businesses especially extraction and production industries to cause harm to the environment while enhancing their profits. Every work done at the expense of natural and human resource leads to the degradation of the overall environment leading to a shortage of labour as well as the fast depletion of natural resources. Although businesses enjoy good profits in such cases, their future remains uncertain due to the fast depletion of resources. On the other hand, if these resources are carefully managed, the business can still maintain its profitability while creating a sound future for itself as well as others (Hill, 2010, pp. 74-78).

Although businesses usually seek to make decisions that can ensure that it makes a high profit. They also need to ensure that they do not create any negative stir ...