Sustainability in 21st century

Presented by Stela Stefanova

Sustainability in other minds …

“Sustainability is no longer a ‘soft’ and tangential aspect to organization performance. A sustainable approach to business activities is generating tangible business benefits for organizations today, through a combination of operational efficiencies and market growth opportunities.”

Simon Mingay, research VP at Gartner

"Sustainability is a condition of existence which enables the present generation of humans and other species to enjoy social wellbeing, a vibrant economy, and a healthy environment, and to experience fulfillment, beauty and joy, without compromising the ability of future generations of humans and other species to enjoy the same."

Guy Daunce

“Achieving sustainable development is perhaps one of the most difficult and one of the most pressing goals we face. It requires on the part of all of us commitment, action, partnerships and, sometimes, sacrifices of our traditional life patterns and personal interests".

Mostafa Tolba, Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development

Sustainability in my mind …

Sustainability in life is exactly the same as it is in business. There is no difference. There is even overlapping.

Every sustainable company produces or supplies a product or a service which is environmentally friendly and replaces (or it aims to do that) the ones that are not. It also tries to implement sustainability in every business decision or action it makes.

Sustainable company is the one that meets the needs of the present society of a certain product or service, without threatening the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs of that same product or service. And it even helps to further develop or improve the product/service for the next generations.

Challenges for corporations and business

1. Impact of their activity on environment/ecology

2. Building corporate culture of sustainability

3. Promoting and ensuring sustainability within supply chains

4. Incorporating sustainability into employee incentives

5. Identifying business risks, associated with water/air/soil quality

6. Measuring the economic impact of NIMBY-ism*

7. Energy use and global warming; limited supply of resources

* NIMBY – not in my backyard

Three pillars of sustainability

• Environment• Society• Economy

About future managers …

• Constant innovation• Resource efficiency• Attention at health & safety• Human rights and diversity• Skills enhancement• Capital efficiency• Life-cycle management• Emissions reductions• Environmental regulations• Social investments• Margin improvement• Growth enhancement• Crisis management• Environmental justice• Business ethics

The 3 most important characteristics of a truly sustainable company

… and

Some truly sustainable companies…

• Toyota• Unilever• Panasonic• Coca-cola• Nissan• Hewlett-Packard • DANONE• Vodafone• Henkel• L’OREAL• Kraft Foods• Adidas

Future

To be sustainable …

“You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”

Nelson Mandela

References:http://www.environmentalleader.com/

2009/12/17/seven-challenges-for-sustainability-in-2010/

http://www.drury.edu/multinl/story.cfm?ID=11595&NLID=259

http://www.globalstewards.org/quotes.htmhttp://ikan.biz/blog/sustainability-

framework/the-value-web/http://www.envplanning.com/

professionalservices/sustainability.htmlPictures – from the web.

Be green!