Business Society and the Planet

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Society and the Planet. Answer: Introduction: The one word that I used to associate with business was profit and loss. I felt that once an organization will be able to make more profit, they would last long in the market. After attending the lectures, I realized that sustainability is a big factor that helps an organization sustains itself in the market. Through the various articles presented in the class, I gained an in-depth knowledge about the relationship between business and sustainability. Goal Five Understanding the Environment made it easy for me to understand the relationship between business sustainability and business. The examples of the farmers used in this write-up was helpful for me understand the triple bottom line accounting framework. After reading the article, I evaluated that the farming is the sole business for the farmers. The bushfires that happened in the year 2009, made the farmers realize the importance of sustainability (ces.vic.gov.au, 2013). They adhered to the interactive and lasting active learning, consultation with the public and local engagement to promote sustainability and they were able to come out of aftermath of the bushfire. The millennium drought was also a lesson for the farmers. A research has shown that there was a lost 12mm less water in sheltered pastures than the open pastures. The live weight-reduction and the cold stress were reduced by 31%. The strawnecked Ibis consumes 25,000 insects per day and the sugar gliders consume 3.5 kilograms of insects in one year. Thus, I understood the importance of triple bottom line as the farmers were financially, the environment was saved and the social conditions of the people improved after adhering to sustainability. I was unaware of the five capitals that are helpful in business. However, when I was taught about the detailed breakup of the capitals like the financial, natural, produced, human and social capital (Goodwin, 2003). When given a deeper thought I understood that all the five capitals have its own significance. I was attracted by the term produced capital. Until, I had a perception that capital is something that an organization already possesses. I was introduced to an entirely different idea that once the human capitals used natural resources to produce a certain capital, then it can be called the produced capital. I further thought that the produced capital would vary depending on the country. In a developing country, the produced capital will be low because of lesser equipments. On the other hand, developed countries, the equipments available to the human capital will be more. Thus, the place of business hugely varies when it comes to the produced capital. The Dunphy scale opened new window towards sustainability. The model presented by Dunphy is the best way for me to understand how to consider the human and ecological resources to achieve sustainability. Figure 1: Dunphy scale (Source: Benn, Dunphy, Griffiths, 2014) According to me, the phase five is the best way to handle an organization to achieve suitability. Since the time, I started understanding the word business, I had a perception that it is all about making profit through the operations. I feel that the efficiency of the individuals is necessary to proceed towards sustainability. I understood if the employees are trained within organization to increase the efficiency and the organization adhere to the use of the environment friendly products, it will help in the enhancement of the business as well as help the organization in achieving sustainability in business. The organization can take the help of the business model to enhance the performance of the organization. While studying about sustainability and business, I bounced on the example of Fuji Xerox that adhered to suitable business by recycling and redesigning their products. I found that the company evaluated the faults in their equipments and prevented emissions that could damage the environment. I was impressed to see that they used dry ice to clean their components instead of water to reduce the use of water. The neutral bicarbonate of soda is used to remove old coating and then later used as the industrial water softener (Benn, Dunphy, Griffiths, 2004). The metal parts that could not be reused were sent to Sims Metal so that they can be recycled. I concluded that organizations needed to understand the importance of sustainability through human and environmental resources. The Dunphy scale is useful in this context. The example of Fuji Xerox was a revelation for me when they recycled and reused the machine wastes the cleaning materials. The more environment-friendly they will become, the more successful they will be in the market. References Benn, S., Dunphy, D., Griffiths, A. (2004). Corporate change for sustainability: the way ahead. Benn, S., Dunphy, D., Griffiths, A. (2014).Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge. ces.vic.gov.au., (2013). Goal FIVE Understanding the environment (1st ed.). Victoria: Science Policy and People Victoria: State of the environment. Retrieved from https://www.ces.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/Part-B-Goal-5.pdf Goodwin, N. R. (2003).Five kinds of capital: Useful concepts for sustainable development(pp. 214578-1110886258964). Medford, MA: Tufts University.