Business+and+Sustainability




 * Introduction: **

Over the last decade there has been a large shift in the popularity of sustainability as a subject, a growing consensus for changing the way we live our day to day lives. Businesses are adapting the way they operate in order to decrease the negative externalities created. Large shifts in the paradigms of business operations has led to a worldwide economy competing to be sustainable for the future.


 * Brief history of Sustainability: **

In 1983, the United Nations created ‘The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)’ which was lead by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former prime minister of Norway. The commission was asked to:


 * Propose long-term environmental strategies to achieve sustainable development by the year 2000.
 * Recommend ways for all countries to incorporate environmental concerns into daily practices.
 * Define shared perceptions of long-term environmental issues in order to protect and enhance the environment.

The Brundtland report was published in 1987, entitled Our Common Future, this was the development of the definition of sustainability still used today. The report was also important for:


 * Creating the first framework that protects Earth life support systems as well as supporting economic and social justice goals.
 * Containing an articulation of the key to contemporary sustainability, this articulation was the system of evaluating any proposed initiative with reference to the environmental, economical and social aspects.

In 1992, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was held. The summit consisted of 180 world leaders, UN agencies and organisations, the world media and non government organisations. The result of the summit was the Rio Declaration, agreeing to 27 principles on environment and development. Some principles are as followed:


 * We can no longer think of the environment, economy and social development as a separate field.
 * The role of mankind, human beings are entitled to live in harmony with nature.
 * Prioritising the least developed countries and those who are environmentally vulnerable.

(Edwards, 2005: 16-18)

The Rio summit created a global program called Agenda 21, the program is for incorporating sustainable development into real life situations. Agenda 21 is a voluntary action plan with the belief that:

“Integration of environment and development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the fulfilment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future. No nation can achieve this on its own; but together we can – in a global partnership for sustainable development.” (United Nations, 1992: Chapter 1)

Despite it being a comprehensive plan aimed to deliver sustainable development, the implementation of the Agenda 21 has not always been very systemic. However, there are examples of where Agenda 21 has achieved successful and lasting outcomes. According to the review of Implementation of Agenda 21 (2012) it is argued that, Agenda 21’s biggest success has come through driving ambition on what sustainable outcomes are achievable on a sector by sector basis. Agenda 21 proposes a variety of actions which need to be implemented by everyone on earth. In order for Agenda 21 to work all of human society must work together to shift the priorities of both the government and us as individuals.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg in 2002, ten years on from the Rio summit. The summit was held as a ten year review of the Rio summit, but the outcome of the summit was a plan for implementing sustainable development that would:


 * Eradicate poverty
 * Improve production issues
 * Improve consumption issues
 * Work on health concerns

(Edwards, 2005: 18-20)


 * What is Sustainability? **

Jacobsen (2011:9) highlights the importance of the English Dictionary’s definition of the word ‘sustain’ as a starting point to understand the key concepts. “(1) longevity or to keep from falling or sinking below some specified level and (2) to nourish or keep alive, above some specified level.”

The most widely used definition of the word sustainability derives from the Bruntland Commission report entitled ‘Sustainable Development’ created by the United Nations in the late 1980’s. The definition in regards to human sustainability on Earth is that “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN, 1987).

In essence, being sustainable is adopting an approach that doesn’t exploit the planet. Limiting or improving the way we consume natural resources and the greenhouse gasses we emit. Leading a sustainable lifestyle has an unlimited and unknown amount of benefits; it is the key to the future of the planet.


 * Sustainability Components:**[[image:Screen Shot 2014-03-22 at 17.39.13.png width="485" align="right"]]

John Elkington (in Savitz, 2013), an expert on sustainability created the concept of ‘the triple bottom line’, which refers to the three biggest components of sustainability; economy, society and the environment. He suggests that businesses must change their measures of success to incorporate the broader economy, the environment and the local society instead of just financial performance. Improving the way businesses measure success can improve the sustainability of businesses as they achieve financial objectives without compromising the world around us.

Werbach, (2013: 9-10) discusses the key components to sustainability in business, these components consist of the economy, society and the environment.


 * 1. Economic Development **

This aspect simply means operating your business developments profitably. Ensuring your business operations is profitable so the company will benefit financially in the future. This aspect is important because it is the finances of the business that allows its shareholders and employees to reach their economic needs, such as securing food and water.


 * 2. Social Development **

Ensuring that businesses are considerate of the local community and society whilst developing, that their operations consider the people who matter. Operating without causing poverty, injustice, affecting human rights or public health.


 * 3. The Environment **

The environmental aspect of the triple bottom line is that business operations protect the environment, observing how their actions affect the ecology. Ensuring that businesses don’t take advantage of earth natural resources or heavily affect climate change without giving back.


 * Accountability: **



Accountability is a large part of business sustainability, being accountable for the actions you choose can develop businesses views on sustainability and effect the decisions being made. Henriques and Richardson (2004: 27-29) suggest that ‘for organizations to have the greatest confidence that no relevant sustainability issues have been overlooked, it is crucial for them to work with the full range of their stakeholders.’

Working alongside business stakeholders can allow businesses to consider their operations against the three elements of the triple bottom line and therefore understand the accountability of their actions. Doing so, can lead to furthering the sustainability of businesses because they are constantly developing their methods to minimise the negative externalities.


 * The effect on the business world: ** [[image:ntinm3/Business_People_In_Front_Of_A_Green_Map.jpg width="278" height="185" align="right"]]

In essence, being sustainable is leading a lifestyle without draining natural resources and creating negative externalities as an outcome. Jacobsen (2011:9) discusses that “an environmentally sustainable process is one that contributes to keeping the environment healthy or alive by not over consuming non-renewable resources or contributing in other ways to the depreciation of the environment.” The movement of being sustainable has spread across the business world, large to small corporations are realising the benefits of becoming ‘green’.

Sustainability in the business world takes into account the importance of shareholders. Blowfield, (2013:7) defines corporate sustainability as a ‘business approach that creates long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments.’ Sustainability in the business world is about balancing different stakeholders objectives alongside the risk management of different development opportunities. Doing so correctly, allows businesses opportunities to develop their operations in a more efficient green way.

Hitchcock & Willard (2006: 3-5) list the many benefits that sustainable businesses are experiencing:

** 1. ** **Reduce energy usage, waste and costs**

Businesses are reaping the benefits of reduced waste to landfill, some companies are benefitting from zero waste to landfill, utilising the recycling and re-usage systems in place. Adapting operating processes is allowing businesses to reduce day to day energy costs creating huge long-term savings.

** 2. Differentiating the business **

Amongst the business world, sustainable actions are not going unnoticed. The large marketing budgets at the hands of businesses mean that sustainable businesses are able to differentiate themselves from those who aren’t operating in a similar way. The benefit of differentiating yourself in a positive light away from other businesses is that you improve the consumer perception of the company. Consumers prefer purchasing products from ‘green’ companies, and the key to this is being sustainable.

** 3. ****Sidestep new regulations**

Regulations on business operations are regularly changing and sustainable businesses are leading the way with their ability to adapt to these regulations. Due to sustainable frameworks allowing companies to predict change in the future and constantly improve their working methods they can stay ahead of the pack when new laws and regulations are made.

** 4. ** **Innovation and new markets**

Sustainability allows those who implement it to predict change in the future which then allows them to predict what is needed, this leads to innovation in the workplace. Being a sustainable business can lead to the creation of new products and also new markets, predicting trends in the future allows businesses to progress easier and increase their profit. Creating new products at affordable prices to everyone will send profits soaring.

** 5. Retain employees **

Modern day employees want to work for the best businesses possible, businesses that share their values. Operating sustainably can attract the most qualified employees for respective positions in the business. Mutual values between staff and the business they work for can increase productivity and staff morale, often creating a place of work with a community feel and a solid sense of belonging.

When it comes to sustainable business benefits, Willard (2013: 2) states ‘the return on investment from aggressively improving company-wide sustainable development knowledge and initiatives makes other traditional investment opportunities seem trivial.’ Companies avoiding the sustainability revolution in the business world are missing out on huge internal savings and utilising the bottom-line benefits created.


 * Businesses Striving toward Sustainability **

Through the use of environmental efficiency initiatives across the company the Co-operative are benefitting from large savings that can be used elsewhere. “The Co-operative Group has saved £40m through sustainability initiatives (Mintel, 2012). Another part of the co-operative group’s future plans is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2020 and reduce water consumption by 30% by 2014. Ambitious steps toward achieving sustainability can save businesses fortunes; this money can be re-invested into various departments and projects furthering their ability to produce green products.

Costa changed their coffee cups in 2013, ‘the new packaging has been designed to use fewer resources, saving over 18 tonnes of paper annually’ (Mintel, 2013). This initiative is a part of Costa’s plans to become sustainable and achieve zero waste to landfill by the year. Savings like this for the business allows them to re-direct the saved money to develop more sustainable methods in the long-term.

=Food & beverage case =

In the current business environment, a key characteristic of food and beverage outlets is the use of different ideas and themes for restaurants, bars and hotels, amongst many others. In recent years such businesses have seen a growth in number previously unseen and higher than ever before. Yet, despite the increase in such businesses there has also been an increasing amount of consumer concern regarding ethical practice and sustainability of such industries. Such issues call into question, whether the business should adopt and operate within sustainable approach. According to the research study by Technomic Inc., it was found that 63 percent of the food consumers are more likely to visit restaurants that are viewed as socially conscious (Ruggless, 2014).This is because the restaurant and food industry can be deemed the most wasteful industry in the world. Dawson (2010) states ‘for every calorie of food we consume in Britain, 10 calories were taken to produce it”. For instance the potato, it consumes and wastes a lot of energy, time, space and resources (water, fuel, etc.) from the first stage of plantation through to the process of delivering to the hand of the consumer.

Suggestions
To reduce the restaurant footprint and to gain recognition as sustainable restaurant, Laura Abshire (//cited in// Ruggless, 2014) stated “there are various cost-effective methods available for restaurants to do, and you can implement sustainable practices that are both beneficial for your organisation and the environment”. For instance one of the methods that would seem to improve such wastefulness would be to work closely with the supplier chains in order to reduce any materials or products that are unnecessary, reduce space (for instance, the downsizing of toilet roll tubes) or that are difficult to recycle.



In addition one other way for restaurants to become more environmentally friendly might be to offer the consumers different portion choices, this can be done by stating different sizes and prices for each potion from small to large potions in the menu. Such a notion has been subject to research by WRAP (2012), published in June 2013, which found that the waste food was left over because the portions are too large due to the majority of food wasters being women and younger people. Thus, the restaurants, especially pubs and hotels, should use visionary tools (images or samples of food in different sizes) to help consumers make their choices. This method is simple to set up and would be an effective means in reducing food waste within a given restaurant. In addition, it would be beneficial to further train and educate the staff so that they are able to discuss with customers about the wastage produced through portion sizes in a proper manner (WRAP, 2013, p.3).

Business case of Starbucks
Starbucks has first started to transform its business to more sustainable design since 1999. They started building towards a sustainable environment by using recycled materials and organic produce (Fairtrade coffee beans) – hence, the Starbucks’ coffee houses were also refurbished by using recycled metals and woods furniture. Additionally, relative to the sustainable design of the company, Starbucks role has been to continuously try and initiate community gathering in different places, such as the campaign which aim to inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. Hence, the keys for success in building sustainable community are using recycle furniture and fixtures wherever it is possible, and working with the local artists and craftsman. Working with local communities not only provides local jobs for people, but also supports local businesses to give a local touch to the store design, specific to each neighborhood. Subsequently this also builds strong relationships with the local people.

Arthur Rubinfeld (2011), who works for Starbucks in the United State of America, stated “in terms of environmental sustainability for a coffee house, the core for such businesses are to promote literature, film and reading, Starbucks is currently and continuously trying to enhance the store design that suitable for any consumer moods state”. For instance adding the round table would psychologically make Starbucks’ customer not to feel as alone in contrast to the square table. Hence, Starbucks in the sense of creating a sustainable business strategy attempts to make its business environmentally friendly, in terms of its products and service. In addition it also strives to combine those aforementioned understandings with psychological approaches to recognize what it is that customers want. The advantages of being sustainable a business such as Starbucks, is that it gains consumer trust and it creates a notion of sincerity to the business brand as stated by Clarice Turner, the Senior vice president with U.S. retail for Starbucks coffee company (National Restaurant Association, 2014). This also has the added benefit of reducing the cost of throwing away any forms of waste (recycling trash within the Starbucks store), and will also reduce energy (e.g. electricity and water bills). Additionally this can be seen as particularly beneficial due to the costs associated with such factors increasing exponentially every year. Perhaps, being sustainable does not just promote the business and brand positively, but also projects to the consumers and employees the perceived benefits of being green. Therefore, working closely with customers and employees in order to gather information of where the business can be improved would help the organisation (small, medium or large sizes) to achieve its sustainable goals.

Criticisms and contradictions of Starbucks’ green business model
According to the Starbucks’ business ethic and compliance report (2011) ‘Starbucks is committed to the highest ethical standards in all business transactions’ (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2011, p.12). This meant that Starbucks’ partners must strictly perceive and follow all related laws, rules and regulations within every country they are operating in. Despite this Starbucks’ statement in term of Ethical, Dan Welch (2011), the guardian reporter argued although Starbucks claim that they sell only Fairtrade coffee, the Ethical consumer magazine (ECM) rank the company unexpectedly low (comparing between 9 coffee shops). The league table by ECM shows that AMT Coffee is the most ethical and environmental friendly coffee chain (11.5 out of 20), followed by Costa coffee (9.5 out of 20), whereby Starbucks is the least of the league table (6.5 out of 20).

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 This has raised a question of ‘do Starbucks really operate ethically whereby following the laws and regulations required those countries they are operated?’ The current answer for this question is ‘no, they do not’. In fact recently Starbucks have been found to be avoiding taxes. Hence, being an international corporation means their tax is not being provided to help and improve local communities. Yet the tax that Starbucks has avoided could be used for more environmentally friendly initiatives. This has raised the public attention on what strategy Starbucks used to avoid tax payment in the UK. One of the most commonly use strategy among the multinational companies (e.g. Google, Amazon and Starbucks) was to transfer the profit from one country (UK) to another country where the tax rate is lower. Then report the lost or zero-profit at the end of the financial year to the government. Additionally, the news, media and magazines have been long criticizing Starbucks business activities. For instance the Guardian newspaper (2011) criticizes Starbucks in term of their fair trade beans, which could not be entirely concerned as ethical. In addition to the previous concern that Starbucks avoided paying taxes in the UK over 3 years, BBC news reported in 2013 that Starbucks had paid for the UK corporation tax for the first time since 2009. Yet Starbucks had also been found that they were underpaid the wages – despite the fact that Howard Schultz, CEO of the company, received an increasing income by 25% in 2009 (Ethical consumer, 2011).

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Oxfam: Fairtrade coffee Campaign against Starbucks coffee company
Fairtrade coffee campaign and regulation was first launched in the UK in between 1994 and 1997, which aim to undertaken the issue of lack of equality between consumers, coffee bean farmers and coffee chains (e.g. Starbucks, Costa, Café Nero, etc.). Oxfam took the big part in the campaign against Starbucks in 2007 with an aim to ask Starbucks to sign an agreement acknowledging Ethiopia’s right to license and distribute its fine coffees (Oxfam America, 2007). The strategies that Oxfam used to create public pressure against Starbucks were to capture media attention to the issue and work closely with allies to unite members of the Ethiopian Diaspora, students, Starbucks employees and Oxfam own supporter base (Oxfam, 2007). Hence, despite the pressure Starbucks agreed to sign an agreement with the Ethiopia government in June 2007 that aim to improve the equality and right within the coffee industry.

=Coca-Cola Enterprises: creating a water sustainable business =

Water is a vital issue for Coca-Cola; it has been a key focus of its sustainability strategy. Water is used in both the company’s products, and for cooling and rinsing within the manufacturing process. According to the Guardian (2014) a lifecycle analysis of the water that Coco-Cola uses has shown that 99% of the embedded water footprint of their products is used within its supply chain. To meet its aim of replenishing all water it uses in water-stressed area, Coca-Cola is investing in community-based water programs. For Coca-Cola they will need to work closely with their suppliers in order to reduce the impact through the supply chain. Coca-Cola is aiming to protect local water sources that sustain communities because these communities are their consumer base. If they stay strong, the businesses will as well. The Coca-Cola Sustainability report (2011) states that the ecological and ethical imperatives that drive the water stewardship also have a business interest in preserving and improving water sources.


 * Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): **

Mallin (2009:1) states that corporate social responsibility is ‘the ways in which a business seeks to align its values and behaviour with those of its various stakeholders.’ CSR is the way businesses make the stakeholders aware of the steps they are taking to strive toward being sustainable. Corporate social responsibility is seen as a marketing tool to most consumers, but businesses are taking huge steps to demonstrate actions are louder than words.

“64 percent (161 companies) of the G250 corporations published CR information, either as a separate report or as part of the annual financial report” (KPMG, 2005:9). The figure has increased in recent years due to pressure from the public; businesses are competing for differentiation by increasing their CSR schemes.

“CSR activities are discretionary and cannot be forced in any court of law” (Banerjee, 2009:17). Despite there being no law involving CSR activities it’s compelling to see the figures of businesses that compete over CSR stunts. This shows that being a sustainable business with a heavy CSR profile can be financially benefitting despite the questions being raised about the validity of businesses CSR schemes.

Businesses integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations because of the impact they have on the environment. Engaging stakeholders in a business’s CSR approach can benefit the greater community and avoid more compulsory state legislations. While there are criticisms about the sincerity of businesses CSR effort in helping society, CSR is now part of a business’s strategy for many organisations and disclosure is increasing more with the adoptions of the GRI format globally. Know and Maklan (2004) argue that the development of CSR could well be inhibited by the lack of a systematic framework linking investment in these responsibilities to social or business outcomes. Furthermore Weber (2008) states that a framework that would allow companies to assess their business case for CSR could facilitate the further implementation of CSR and support rational decision- making in this area. Sustainable development is commonly accepted as ‘’meeting and satisfying the needs of current generations, without compromising the ability of future generation to meet and satisfy their needs.’’ Brundtland Report (1987)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rests upon the notion that a business should make some direct voluntary contribution to the resolution of social and environmental issues. There are two distinct theories by Friedman and Freeman that relate to this. Friedman (2001) says that social responsibility of a business is to maximise their profits, (similar to that of egoism) and that the manager’s duty is to act in the interest of the shareholder only. On the other hand, Freeman (2008) looks at that the importance of the stakeholder theory, as any individual can affect the organisation; Freeman also argues that the business and society are interdependent.


 * CSR in action: **

A business that prides itself on being sustainable and promoting huge corporate social responsibility schemes is ‘The Body Shop’. Banerjee (2009:17) states the Body Shop has been ‘conducting social and environmental audits and reporting its social and environmental performance for more than a decade.’ The body shop is leading the way in the UK cosmetics market due to it’s extremely high CSR profile, the use of media and social media has allowed them to promote their sustainable business schemes for years.

‘Protect the Planet’ is one of The Body Shop’s values, drawing attention to the importance of the planet, the Body Shop aim to reduce water usage, waste to landfill, CO2 emissions and electricity usage. They also promote biodiversity on corporate sites by building things like allotments next to head offices (The Body Shop, 2013). These beliefs and CSR schemes has projected the body shop to the top of the CSR ladder and the UK cosmetics market share.

Another business that focuses on sustainability and CSR schemes is ‘Andrex’, Andrex have released products like eco-friendly toilet roll in an attempt to capture people’s drive to become sustainable from the modern home. Andrex published a strategy plan named ‘Sustainability 2015’ which demonstrates their commitment to the planet. Schemes such as sustainably sourced fibres toilet roll and the planting of trees has allowed Andrex to differentiate themselves from other businesses.

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 * Conclusion: **

The hesitancy involved with sustainability derives from a lack of knowledge, still in it’s early process it’s clear to see that not everyone is striving toward sustainability because it is yet to be fully proven. Despite seeing huge savings from adaptations to internal and external business operations there is a large number of doubters. Working with all the stakeholders in a business and understanding the accountability of their actions can allow businesses to continue on their path to being sustainable. It’s clear to see that adopting the sustainable pathway can lead to instant benefits such as; reduced operation costs, improving brand and brand awareness. Awareness of sustainability as a subject and as a necessity in all levels of business from shareholders to consumers will enable businesses to eventually operate sustainably and give back to Earth’s life.


 * References **


 * 1) 1. Andrex (2014) Sustainability at Andrex. [online] Available from: [] [Accessed: 21/03/14]
 * 2) 2. Banerjee, S, B. (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Edward Elgar Publishing: UK.
 * 3) 3. Blowfield, M. (2013) Business and Sustainability. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
 * 4) 4. Edwards, A, R. (2005) The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. New Society Publishers: Canada.
 * 5) 5. Henriques, A. Richardson, J. (2004) The Triple Bottom Line, Does It All Add Up?: Assessing the Sustainability of Business and CSR. Earthscan: London.
 * 6) 6. Hitchcock, D. Willard, M. (2006) The Business Guide to Sustainability: Practical Strategies and Tools for Organizations. Earthscan: Bath.
 * 7) 7. Jacobsen, J. (2011) Sustainable Business and Industry: Designing and Operating for Social and Environmental Responsibility. Quality Press: US.
 * 8) 8. KPMG Global Sustainability Services (2005) KPMG International Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting 2005.
 * 9) 9. Mallin, C, A. (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study Approach. Edward Elgar Publishing: UK.
 * 10) 10. Mintel (2013) Costa reaffirms corporate responsibility & sustainability with new packaging [online] Available from: [|http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/display/id=679286?highlight#hit1] [Accessed: 17/03/14]
 * 11) 11. Mintel (2012) The Co-operative makes £40m in sustainability savings. [Online] Available from: [|http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/display/id=611213?highlight#hit1] [Accessed: 14/03/14]
 * 12) 12. Savitz, A. (2013) The triple bottom line: how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too. John Wiley & Sons: US.
 * 13) 13. The Body Shop (2014) Protect the Planet [online] The Body Shop. Available from: [] [Accessed: 19/03/14]
 * 14) 14. United Nations. (1987) Report of the world commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. United Nations: USA.
 * 15) 15. United Nations. (1992) United Nations Sustainable Development: Agenda 21. United Nations: USA.
 * 16) 16. Werbach, A. (2013) Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto. Harvard Business Press: US.
 * 17) 17. Willard, B. (2013) The New Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line. New Society Publishers.

BBC News. (2013) //Starbucks pays UK corporation tax for first time since 2009//[Online] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23019514 [Accessed 23 April 2014].

Bergin, T. (2013) //Special Report: How Starbucks avoids UK taxes//[Online] Available from: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/us-britain-starbucks-tax-idUSBRE89E0EX20121015 [Accessed 22 April 2013].

Fairtrade Foundation. //History of Fairtrade//[Online] Available from: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/history.aspx [Accessed 23 April 2014].

Ethical Consumer. (2011) //Coffee shop: Free shopping guide to Coffee shop, from Ethical Consumer// [Online] Available from: http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/drink/coffeeshops.aspx [Accessed 23 April 2014].

Haight, C. (2011) //The Problem with Fair Trade Coffee//. [Online] Available from: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_problem_with_fair_trade_coffee [Accessed 23 April 2014].

Oxfam America. (2007) //Ethiopia: Starbucks Campaign (Anatomy of a Win)// [Online] Available from: http://www.oxfam.org/en/development/ethiopia-starbucks-campaign-anatomy-win [Accessed 23 April 2014].

Starbucks Coffee Company. (2011) //Business Ethics and Compliance: Standards of Business Conduct//[Online] Available from: http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/eecd184d6d2141d58966319744393d1f.pdf [Accessed 22 April 2014].

Welch, D. (2011) //Fairtrade beans do not mean a cup of coffee is entirely ethical// [Online] Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2011/feb/28/coffee-chains-ethical [Accessed 22 April 2014].

** Is sustainable business feasible for SMES? ** This wiki post discusses the feasibility of sustainable business operations within small and medium enterprises. The continuation of businesses exhausting the natural resources of our planet has created the demand for sustainable business operations. However, this would benefit the business world and global environments, the financial burdens of sustainable implementation must be examined. In recent years, larger organisations have improved the sustainable development of business operations as they are naturally under more scrutiny in the public domain than SMES.

The financial capabilities of large companies has reduced the amount of barriers to sustainable business practise. In general, SMES struggle to implement sustainable operations because of these barriers, and the reduced rewards of positive reputation compared to large corporations. As the nature of SMES have a smaller customer base the idea of advertising their sustainable nature will have less affect than bigger companies, as the SMES have limited marketing reach. the idea of gaining a positive reputation will occur when advertising sustainable business but to a less extent because of the low key of marketing materials available to the company.

The question remains for SME'S to why they should measure their resource usage and emissions? as an implementation of sustainable practise is a short term financial burden. Defra (Undated) states the key reasons that a company can benefit from this measuring and reducing the emissions an SME outputs. These are identified as:


 * Identify areas to reduce usage and save money
 * Can increase competitive ability of a business
 * Customers increasingly demand more information about sustainability
 * contribute to the improvement of and development of sustainability

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The above benefits to an SME may not be persuasive to many businesses as the economic sustainability is a priority. The implementation of sustainable practise for an SME will also have a number of disadvantages. These are identified as:


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Short term financial costs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time consuming to understanding new technologies
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time consuming and financial drain trading staff to use these technologies
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Long term financial benefits may not surpass short term

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The potential advantages and disadvantages presented are the existing incentives for SMES to consider sustainable practise or to ignore this concept. Although SME's may decide to adopt sustainable business based on these points, the feasibility of SME's to use this in general will be measured by the barriers that exist for sustainable business operations. Sustainability4SMES (2013) conducted a survey asking SME's about their opinions on the implementation of sustainable practise within their companies'.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Figure 1, Sustainability4SMEs (2013)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The data displays the most common opinions that occurred from the perspective of SME's leadership. The key barriers identified within this survey is the lack of information regarding the installation of sustainable practise and technology, and the sustainable initiative interfered with other business operations. The lack of information regarding sustainable practise is a concern for businesses as this can waste time and resources trying to discover the correct methods of implementation. This barrier alone may persuade SMEs to ignore the idea of sustainable practise completely, as the demands for it is a high level of commitment. The alternative barrier that is the most common opinion within this study is the belief that sustainable development will interfere with the other interests and operations within an SME. As the other business operations are a priority for an SME, from a resource point of view, sustainability may not be feasible to carry while running daily operations.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The survey has identified other barriers of sustainable practise, these are:


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Employee apathy
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leadership not on board
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">local regulations and politics
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">national regulations and politics
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">not feasible for supply chain
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to expensive to implement
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to complex to implement

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once the barriers of sustainable development and business practise have been identified by an SME the decision remains whether they are capable to bypass these and if the benefits of sustainability is worth the efforts to surpass the barriers. Does the above barriers enable a feasible sustainability plan for an SME? This will depend on the resources available and the current competitive positioning within the market. It is suggestive then that the decision of an SME to undertake this challenge of surpassing these barriers will be a risk and in many cases it will potentially be detrimental to the welfare of the business. These detrimental effects can impact the staff morale because of the require d adaptation and resource allocation towards the sustainable operations within an SME. The leadership of an SME may encounter issues with employee attitudes towards sustainability if the opinion is not shared. The many barriers that businesses face for sustainable development presents an SME with a measure uncertainty when compiling a strategy for growth and development. The only certainty with sustainable business operations is that it will be challenging for any sized business to install within their infrastructure.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This video presents options for business to innovate technology and business operations to undertake sustainable practises, from the university of Exeter:

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 * References **

Defra (undated). Benefits of Sustainability. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs. [Accessed: 11/05/2014].

Sustainability4SMES (2013). Barriers to Sustainability. [Online]. Available at: http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/08/eliminating-barriers-small-business-sustainability. [Accessed: 11/05/2014].