IB Docs (2) Team
Sustainability
“We need to think of the future and the planet we are going to leave to our children and their children.”
- Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat (1938 - 2018)
“If it can't be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned, or removed from production.”
- Pete Seeger (1919 - 2014), American folk singer and social activist
According to the United Nations (UN), sustainability is about "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (UN, 1987).
Sustainability can be enhanced by conserving resources or finding more efficient ways to produce or discover new resources. Business decisions should consider the triple bottom line (3BL) of people, planet, and profit and their resulting impacts in order to achieve their sustainability goals. Read more about the 3BL model in the section below.
Why should schools focus on sustainability?
At the heart of the new Business Management course, and one of the four aims of the course, is the question "What understandings as change agents should business management students have?"
Sustainability as a key concept in business education is about encouraging young people to be change agents (or change makers) to create a better world for all generations to come. It is about embracing the challenges and taking the responsibility for protecting the planet and its people, and certainly not only the profits of large corporations. Our role as business management educators and students is to be inspired to shape and create a better future for all individuals and societies, forever.
In 2015, all member states of the United Nations (UN) adopted the Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a plan of action to create a better world for people and the planet, creating international propsperity, peace, and partnerships, now and into the future. At the heart of this agenda are the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - see ATL Activity 4 below. The SDGs have the potential to eradicate poverty and inequalities, strengthen communities and societies, increase wellbeing, and stop climate change.
Hence, in a business management context, sustainability is about operating in ways that enable individuals and societies to meet their needs and desires now without compromising or jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and wants.
The SDGs also provide a framework for understanding and exploring economic and social development in sustainable ways. There is growing international recognition of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), UNESCO's education programme for tackling the urgent and dramatic challenges the planet faces. The UN 's SDG and UNESCO's ESD are key components of a quality international education and are essential mechanisms for a sustainable future. In particular, the SDGs provide a clear overview of sustainable development principles and offer limitless opportunities for learning and action. For example, SDG 4 states the following goal:
“By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has advocated a move towards a circular economy. The OECD's five circular business models are part of the Business Management Toolkit (BMT) in the DP Business Management syllabus. Circular business models focus on exploring innovative new business models that allow organization to deal with the challenges of sustainability and to unlock new opportunities for business growth without jeopardising the future of their business operations. The OCED (2018) states that:
“Circular business models ... have the potential to drive the transition towards a more resource efficient and circular economy and, in doing so, significantly reduce the environmental pressure resulting from economic activity”.
Watch this brief video featuring Sir David Attenborough, speaking at the COP 26 Summit in November 2021 about the challenge we all face and the urgent call to action for a sustainable future.
Watch the full video of Sir David Attenborough's speech at COP 26 here.
ATL Activity 1 (Thinking skills) - What do you know about sustainability?
This activity has been created by IB educator and experienced author Vivien Jack, who teaches in Cambodia. Many thanks for sharing this with us, Vivien!
Write down a word for as many letters of the alphabet as you can that is related to sustainability (in positive and/or negative ways). For example (but try not to use these in your own list):
P = People, Plant, Profit
Q = Quality of life
R = Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling
S = Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs)
T = Triple bottom line model
U = United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Teacher only boxPossible answers
Activism
Biodiversity, Biodegradable
Climate change crisis, Carbon footprint, Closed-loop / Circular economy, Conservation
Doing well by doing good, Deforestation
Ecology, Eco-Friendly, Energy-efficient, Energy conservation
Fair trade
Green, Generations (future), Greenwashing
Hydrogen
Investment
Job growth
Knowledge from indigenous heritage
Legislation, Light Emitting Diode (LED), Linear business models
Meteorology, Microplastics
Neutral net carbon emissions, Net Zero
Objectives, Opportunities
People, Planet, Profit, Possibilities
eQuality vs. eQuity
Responsibility, Rewilding
Stakeholders
Targets (for emissions)
UN COP26
Values
Water (rising sea levels)
eXtreme weather
Youth
Zero carbon emissions
For more information about the meaning of some of these words, have a read of the Green Glossary here.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
Watch this short news clip about how e-waste (electronic waste such as old mobile phones and games consoles) is affecting people in parts of China. At the end of the video clip, discuss the following two questions:
Whilst e-waste management is a thriving business opportunity, what are the true social costs of economic growth and development?
Does business activity ultimately cause unethical and unsustainable consequences to society?
Case study 1 - Panasonic
In 2014, Panasonic introduced a wage premium to expatriate workers in China. The Japanese electronics company became the world’s first company to introduce a higher pay scheme to compensate employees sent to China due to the country’s hazardous air pollution. According to the US embassy in Beijing, air pollution in the capital is more than 16 times the World Health Organization's (WHO) safety guideline.
ATL Activity 2 (Research skills)
Investigate the various methods that Lego uses sustainability in its business operations. Lego's website is a good starting point.
Be prepared to share your findings with the rest of the class.
ATL Activity 3 (Research skills) - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read this short article titled What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about the problems in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Then watch this short, 7-and-a-half minutes YouTube video about plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean, and answer the questions that follow. In particular, students should identify the sustainability issues that arise throughout the video.
Questions
Why is plastic pollution such a growing and worldwide problem?
What solutions are recommended in this short video?
Encourage students to reflect on the contributions to plastic waste and ocean plastic pollution due to consumerism and corporate greed. Discuss, from an environmental sustainability angle, why plastic pollution is such a growing and worldwide problem. For example, why does it matter that there are an estimated 18,000,000,000,000 pieces of plastic waste in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? And what are the social, ecological and economic consequences of having more ocean plastic waste (by weight) than fish in our oceans by the year 2050?
As an extension activity, get students to read this extended article from National Geographic about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Additional questions based on the above YouTube video:
3. What is the Pacific Trash Vortex and how many tonnes does it weigh?
4. Where is the Pacific Trash Vortex located?
5. How many garbage vortexes are there on the planet’s oceans and what are they known as?
6. How many kilometres does the Great Pacific Garbage Patch cover?
7. In 2019, how many tonnes worth of lost fishing nets were recovered from the vortex over a clean-up period of 25 days?
8. Who started (founded) the "Ocean Cleanup Project" and how old is he (at the time of the video)?
9. How much plastic waste could be removed from the oceans using Slat's flotation device, over a period of 5 years?
10. A study from the United Nations has predicted what will happen by the year 2050? Teacher only boxAdditional questions based on the above YouTube video:
3. What is the Pacific Trash Vortex and how many tonnes does it weigh?
It is another name for the Green Pacific Garbage Patch, and weighs 87,000 tonnes.
4. Where is the Pacific Trash Vortex located?
It is located in the Pacific Ocean; between California and Hawaii
5. How many garbage vortexes are there on the planet’s oceans and what are they known as?
6; Gyres
6. How many kilometres does the Great Pacific Garbage Patch cover?
1.6 million km!
7. In 2019, how many tonnes worth of lost fishing nets were recovered from the vortex over a clean-up period of 25 days?
40 tonnes (or 1.6 tonnes of lost fishing nets per day during the clean-up period)
8. Who started (founded) the "Ocean Cleanup Project" and how old is he (at the time of the video)?
Boyan Slat; 24 years old
9. How much plastic waste could be removed from the oceans using Slat's flotation device, over a period of 5 years?
50%
10. A study from the United Nations has predicted what will happen by the year 2050?
There will be a greater volume of plastic waste than fish in our oceans (by weight), if nothing is done about the global problem.
ATL Activity 4 (Research & Thinking skills) - The UNDP Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Source: UNDP
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), were adopted by all UN Member States back in 2015 as a universal call to action to end world poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people across the globe enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
Read more about the United Nations Development Programme’s Sustainable Development Goals here and here (from the website of the United Nations), making links to aspects of social sustainability. Present your findings as a timeline.
Students can also refer to this short video about the SDGs:
A brief account...
American marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) suggested that economic prosperity through great consumption, expenditure and trade may have adverse effects on the natural environment.
In 1968, several heads of states, diplomats, scientists, economists and UN bureaucrats founded the international group ‘The Club of Rome’. In 1972, this group published a report on the harmful impacts of economic growth and prosperity.
Following the Club of Rome's report, several academia from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, prepared a paper titled ‘Growth and its implication for the future’ (1975) for the United States Congress.
In the late 1980s, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (UNWCED) published its groundbreaking report ‘Our Common Future’ (1987), commonly referred to as the Brundtland Report. The report coined the term sustainable development as:
“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
In 1987, the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty, was adopted in order to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that scientists found to be responsible for depletion of the ozone layer. These substances include the use of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) found in fast food packaging used by multinational companies including McDonald's and Burger King.
In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Agreements were reached on the Rio Declaration, a non-legally binding agreement on conservation and sustainable development of the forestry industry.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed in 1995, accounting for the vast majority of international trade agreements across the globe. Its protocols include consideration of the impacts of trade on the environment and sustainable development.
In 1997, nations agree to the international pact on targets to reduce carbon emissions in the Kyoto Protocol. This international treaty, signed in Japan, extended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992. The agreement commits signatory governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in further attempts to protect the planet.
The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are finalized in 2000.
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) holds its third international conference on sustainable development at the Earth Summit in 2012 (called Rio 2012), aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of the global community. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are formed, replacing the UN's Millennium Development Goals.
In 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the UN Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States. This is the most significant universal call to action for all member countries to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by the year 2030.
Teacher only boxNote to teachers:
Students are not expected to learn all of the UN SDGs although being able to understand the overview and purpose of these goals can help them to better understand the concept of sustainability in IB Business Management. There are plenty of discussion points that can arise from this part of the syllabus, such as:
Why hotels around the world offer all-you-can-eat buffets
Whether high-income nations can justify their overconsumption of goods and services
Why the world's poorest people have minimal access to the planet's resources
The pro's and con's of China's previous one-child policy relative to other means to control population growth
The costs and benefits of an ageing population.
ATL Activity 5 (Research and Thinking skills) - The future of fast fashion
Fast fashion refers to low-priced but stylish clothing, from businesses such as Zara and H&M, that moves quickly in the supply chain process from design to retail stores. It involves businesses regularly launching new collections in order to meet changing consumer trends.
Watch this short video that outlines the future of fashion and answer the questions that follow. You may need to carry out additional research and refer to BMT 8 - Circular business models prior to answering the questions.
Explain how the fast fashion industry has been a major contributor to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Discuss how organizations in the fast fashion industry can use circular business models (CBM) to ensure the sustainability of their businesses.
Did you know... June 24th is Upcycling Day?
Upcycling is a relatively new concept but certainly a growing trend. Although the term has been used since the 1990s, upcycling rose to prominence when it started trending in 2002. Upcycling is about taking old household objects, such as toys and furniture, and adding your own creativity and craft to make something new and of practical value. Upcycling Day on 24th June each years celebrates the art of upcycling and focuses on sustainable use of household goods, recycling items instead of being wasteful, and the many different ways we can reuse things that we might otherwise think are no longer useless.
The book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, released in 2002, brought upcycling into the modern language. Not only did the book include information and tips about upcycling, the book itself was upcycled from plastic materials and soy, which was used to form the ink.
Upcycling Day naturally arose as a way to bring attention to the craze and to encourage people to get involved in wasting less (throwing less away) and upcycling more. The art of upcycling is celebrated by those who are dedicated to finding sustainable ways of living and to save our planet as well as those who are artistically creative to find new ways to use the old things cluttering our homes and lives, avoiding more waste clogging our landfills.
ATL Activity 6 (Thinking and Communication skills) - The upcycling challenge
All students - and teachers - should try to upcycle one item from home and bring this to school. Each participant should explain their upcycled product and the processes used to create this.
As a class, you can vote on the best upcycled product!
This ATL Activity also presents opportunities for collaboration with the Design Technology and/or Visual Arts departments if these exist in your school. Sustainability is a core theme (concept) in several subjects.
Sustainability is one of the key concepts prescribed in the IB Business Management course. The triple bottom line (3BL) is a business management model that discusses three broad strategies for ecological, social, and economic sustainability. According to the United Nations (UN), sustainability is defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (UN, 1987).
In a business management context, the term sustainability refers to the ability of an organization or an economy to continue its business activities indefinitely. This means that its operations today do not jeopardise the opportunities for future generations. British author and entrepreneur John Elkington (1994) is a world-leading authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. Elkington coined the term the triple bottom line (or the three 3Ps of sustainability) to refer to the three pillars (aspects) of sustainability that businesses need to consider:
Social sustainability (People)
Environmental sustainability (Planet), and
Economic sustainability (Profit or Prosperity)
Elkington’s pillars of sustainability
Environmental sustainability (Planet)
"We have a finite environment - the planet. Anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist."
- Sir David Attenborough, British broadcaster, natural historian, and author
Overfishing and deforestation are ecologically unsustainable
Environmental sustainability (or ecological sustainability) refers to sustainable use of the planet’s natural resources so that the current level of consumption does not jeopardise the resources available for future generations. Without ecological sustainability, business activity will eventually deplete the planet’s natural resources.
Examples of unsustainable business activities include overfishing and deforestation. At a more micro level, many retailer have implemented a policy of "opt-in receipts" (where printed receipts are only given to customers if they request one - otherwise they can be emailed to customers instead).
Therefore, environmental sustainability requires the efficient and rational use of the earth’s resources. For example, many countries have introduced a charge (or tax) on the use of non-biodegradable plastic carrier bags. These countries include: Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Switzerland, and Wales. According to reusethisbag.com, Ireland reduced the use of plastic carrier bags by 90% (or over 1 billion bags) between 2001 and 2011 by imposing a per unit tax of $0.37. Some countries have banned the distribution of plastic carrier bags that are not made from biodegradable sources. These nations include: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico, Rwanda and Tasmania.
Many countries have taxes or bans on plastic bags
Case Study 2 - Overfishing
Overfishing is the commercial practice of removing too many fish from their natural habitat such that the species
cannot replenish themselves in time. This can result in the fish stock becoming severely depleted or underpopulated, which endangers the species.
There is a global trend in overfishing, with some fishing businesses illegally overfishing. Overfishing creates a threat to sustainability and causes negative externalities of production (such as pollution caused by too many commercial trawlers operating in the oceans) and negative consumption externalities (such as the immense amount of food waste from over-consumption of seafood buffets).
ATL Activity 7 (Research skills)
In small groups, research the problems of overfishing for the sustainability of businesses as a whole. Websites such as http://overfishing.org and http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com will help.
Be prepared to present your findings to the rest of the class.
Case Study 3 - Deforestation
Brazil’s continual reduction of forest areas is harmful for the country’s long-term environmental sustainability, according to Canada's Natural Resources Canada (NRC). By contrast, Bhutan has continually increased its forest areas. The NRC states that the ratio of forest areas to the total land area of a country is a major indicator of environmental sustainability. The NRC also states that forestry helps to sustain ecological functions such as carbon storage, nutrient cycling, water and air purification, and maintenance of wildlife.
Source: www.nrcan.gc.ca
ATL Activity 8 (Thinking skills) - Why is the Amazon rainforest being destroyed?
The Amazon rainforest is known for its biodiversity, but also for the growing problem of deforestation. As the world’s largest tropical rainforest with an area of 5.5 million km², the Amazon rainforest covers much of northwestern Brazil and extends into Colombia, Peru and other South American countries.
Knowledge - List reasons why deforestation takes place.
Understanding - Write a short paragraph stating why deforestation is happening.
Application - Write a short paragraph describing the reasons for deforestation in a specific area you have studied. Include facts and figures in your response.
Analysis - What problems exist in the Amazon Basin that cause deforestation?
Evaluation - Are there any feasible solutions which may prevent deforestation? In your response, consider the reasons why businesses are involved in deforestation and think of some alternative, feasible and sustainable solutions to the issue.
Creation - What would happen if Brazil gave the Amerindians more rights to the land within which they live?
ATL Activity 9 (Thinking skills) - The World Counts (climate change)
Take a look at The World Counts website to see how the earth’s average temperature is continually rising. According to the website, if no action is taken to tackle the global problem of climate change, temperatures could increase by 5 degrees by 2100. Use the website to help answer the question below.
What are the economic implications of global temperatures rising by around 5 degrees within the next eight decades?
According to the UNDP, climate change is the most defining issue of our time and the most significant challenge to sustainable development. The compounding effects of climate change are speeding up, leaving even less time for people, firms, and governments to act. Unprecedented changes in all aspects of society will be required to avoid the worst effects of climate change, bringing with it massive wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and other climate disasters across all continents.
ATL Activity 10 (Thinking skills) - The Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola is the world’s most successful consumer drinks company. However, this also means the company is the planet’s largest plastic polluter. Read this BBC article about Coca-Cola’s impact on the environment, and answer the questions that follow.
- Coca-Cola was once associated with “teaching the world to sing”. According to the author, what is it being increasingly associated with today?
Plastic pollution and childhood obesity
- Who is the global chief executive of the Coca-Cola Company?
James Quincey
- How many plastic bottles does the Coca-Cola Company produce each year?
Over 100 billion plastic bottles!
- What does the company aim to achieve by 2030?
To recover every plastic bottle for every one the company sells, and to use 50% of this for new bottles (an example of cradle to cradle manufacturing)
- What is Coca-Cola’s annual sales revenue?
Over $40 billion (that equates to $109,589,041 in sales revenue every day of the year!)
- What are the largest growth areas for the company?
Zero-sugar versions of Coca-Cola and the company’s water and juice drinks
- When did the UK government introduce its sugar tax?
2016
- If Coca-Cola reduced its use of plastics by 5%, how many plastic bottles would be avoided in the production process?
500 million fewer bottles (which is the same as saving 1,369,863 plastic bottles per day of the year, or a staggering 57,077 plastic bottles each hour of the day, every day)
In 2018, Coca-Cola used three million tonnes of plastic in its global operations. Coca-Cola sells more than 100 billion throw-away plastic bottles each year - that's more than 8.3 billion plastic bottles per month, 1.9bn per week, almost 274 million per day or more than 11.4 million single-use plastic bottles per hour! Across the planet, more of Coca-Cola's plastic packaging is found littered than any other brand. Since then, Coca-Cola has announced that the company will replace all plastic shrink wraps for its multipacks, and replace these with 100% recyclable cardboard. Read more about this initiative here.
Case Study 4 - Marriott Hotels
Read this short article about Marriott, the world’s largest hotel chain, removing plastic straws from its 6,500 hotels. This is an important move for the organization’s ecological sustainability as many of its hotels are on beachfront locations and other areas of natural beauty (where the plastics could plastic waste could easily make their way into the sea or into the natural environment.
Case Study 5 - Prada
Read this article about luxury brand Prada’s “Re-Nylon” project, which aims to replace all of the company’s nylon products with recyclable ocean trash by the end of 2021. Whilst many luxury brands continue to use the finest leathers, silks and cashmeres from around the world, Prada’s efforts to invest in sustainable alternatives has led the business to use ocean plastics and fishing nets to make its bags. Prada’s Re-Nylon bags range from US$1,550 to $1,790.
Case Study 6 - France bans waste foods
In 2016, France became the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold food products, such as fresh bread, fruits, vegetables, eggs, fresh milk and other perishable goods. Instead, supermarkets are required to donate the food items to charities and food banks.
This fantastic documentary titled “A Plastic Ocean” shows why sustainability is so important. The 2016 documentary is not available for free online, but watch the trailer here to get a glimpse of why ecological sustainability is vital to our own human survival:
For the non-faint hearted, here is a short snippet of the documentary, that shows why so many birds are dying from the plastic pollution in our oceans, with one scene showing 234 pieces of plastic waste inside a dead bird:
But it is not all doom and gloom. Some organizations, such as Ecoalf, have embraced upcycling by using plastic waste from the oceans to create products such as clothes. Watch this short video that introduces the EcoAlf Foundation's Ocean Waste and Recycling Partnership.
Ecological sustainability strives to achieve economic goals of society without having to deplete more of the planet ́s natural resources. Upcycling the oceans is one way to achieve this aim. It involves organizations and volunteers to collect trash destroys the oceans and ecosystem, by turning plastic waste into top-quality yarn to produce fabrics and other products. Ecoalf has managed to create a new 100% recycled filament, called "UTO Yarn", which is made of the plastic bottles recovered from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
Ecoalf's Upcycling the Oceans programme is an unprecedented worldwide project that aims to remove plastic waste from the bottom of the oceans, with the help of fishermen and other volunteers. The revolutionary project's main goal is to recover the trash, mainly plastic waste, that is destroying the oceans in order to give the seas a second chance of life. Ecolaf's Upcycling the Oceans project started in September 2015 in the Mediterranean Coast of Levante (Spain), and has expanded throughout the Mediterranean and has also been replicated in Thailand.
In a business management context, operations management has a significant role in ecological sustainability. For example:
Lean production and quality management help to minimise the resources used to make goods and provide services
Cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design and manufacturing is used to reduce waste.
Production methods that involve the use of green technologies, such as the use of renewable energy sources (solar, wind and geothermal power).
ATL Activity 11 (Research & Thinking skills) - The importance of green credentials
Read this interesting article from phs about the importance of green credentials and how businesses can improve their green credentials.
Green credentials refers to the credibility of a business in terms of its ecological sustainability, which will also have a direct impact on its economic sustainability. For example, a business which actively engages with the three Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) is likely to have better green credentials than firms that do not. The three Rs is a simple framework that can be applied across the board to businesses of all sizes in all industries.
It is increasingly challenging for organizations to ignore business ethics, sustainability issues and considering the environmental impacts of their operations. Sustainability is of growing importance to customers and governments around the world.
Read the article above and consult any other resources to answer the two questions below:
Why are green credentials important?
What are the main ways suggested in the article to help businesses to improve their green credentials?
Having green credentials is an increasingly important factor for all businesses. Having good green credentials helps a business to manage its brand / corporate reputation. Many businesses actively take steps to become more sustainable and ethical, which also helps to improve its market standing with customers and improves its economic sustainability (profitability).
The article suggests five "simple ways" to improve an organization's green credentials:
Cutting back, i.e. reducing the use of resources, especially non-renewable resources.
Invest in resource-saving appliances, i.e. switching to modern, more energy-efficient appliances and devices / technologies.
Encourage green commuting, i.e. reducing the firm’s overall carbon footprint, such as by encouraging staff to think green when commuting (taking public transport, walking or cycling to work rather than driving).
Implement a recycling strategy, i.e. embedding a recycling culture in the workplace.
Get staff on board and involved in green credentials, sustainability and ecological sustainable practices.
As an extension task, students could also read this aricle about the increasing importance of green credentials in the corporate world.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
The idea of environmental sustainability suggests that people should avoid overconsuming or destroying resources today so as not to penalize opportunities for future generations. Is it possible to have knowledge of the future?
Social sustainability (People)
With more people, comes more consumption
Social sustainability focuses on the extent to which an organization or economy can meet the needs of the current generation without jeopardising the needs of future generations. For example, population growth around the world results in greater levels of consumption and depletion of the earth’s natural resources. Social sustainability enables people of the current and future generations to enjoy a decent quality of life.
ATL Activity 12 (Thinking skills) - Population trends
Take a look at this website (Worldometers.com) with some fascinating live data, including the size of the world’s population, as well as the populations of the world’s 20 largest countries (by population size). Click here to see the information on this website, which clearly points to the importance of social sustainability.
Case Study 7 - Population milestones
8 billion: 2022 (November 2022)
7 billion: 2011
6 billion: 1999
5 billion: 1987
4 billion: 1974
3 billion: 1960
2 billion: 1930
1 billion: 1804
Social sustainability requires allocating resources in such a way to maximise the quality of life for people within a society. For example, by removing social barriers such as gender inequalities, human resources are allocated more efficiently in society. This results in women being provided equal opportunities in the workplace, and hence higher household incomes too.
However, social barriers exist which prevent or limit social sustainability. Examples include absolute poverty, unemployment and social imbalances (such as racism, ageism, sexual discrimination, and gender inequalities). Elkington argues that businesses need to embrace social justices, especially the fair treatment of women in the workplace as this can result in many opportunities in terms of productivity gains, employee morale, and a more positive corporate image. In fact, gender equality is the fifth of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Sustainable Development Goals. This means that gender equality, and the empowerment of women in particular, is vital to both economic and human development in the long term.
Gender equality is vital to social sustainability
Economic sustainability (Profitability or Prosperity)
Over-production can cause pollution and waste
Economic sustainability is about using resources, both natural and manufactured, efficiently and responsibly. It is able encouraging businesses to focus their strategies on long-term rather than short-term profitability targets, and the long-term consequences of economic activities. This also has a direct impact on people’s jobs and careers in the future.
A lack of economic sustainable business behaviour causes over-production and over-consumption in the short run. Increased populations across the world and higher per capita income have led to greater demand and consumption, making it increasingly difficult to maintain the output of goods and services to meet consumer needs and wants. However, the greater levels of production result in an inefficient allocation of resources, and creates a threat to economic sustainability. This is worsened if over-production and over-consumption results in more pollution and waste. Moreover, overuse of non-renewable resources means that businesses will struggle to operate efficiently in the long run, thus harming their long term profitability and threatening their survival.
Watch this short video clip about sustainable banana farming in Australia, asking students to consider the importance of 'best management practices (BMP)' in environmentally-sustainable farming:
Teacher only boxThis video showcases how banana farmers in North Queensland, Australia are using environmentally-sustainable farming practices to reduce the impacts on local waterways and the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
Possible benefits of best management practices (BMP) include:
long-term sustainability of farmland, despite the rain and storm season
long-term sustainability of the environment, including protection of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon area
Restoring riverbanks and soils lost due to tropical cyclones and other natural disasters
Restoration of natural habitats and ecosystems, including the return of natural wildlife such as ducks, eagles, other birds and even crocodiles.
Case Study 8 - IKEA's generous offer to buy back old furniture
An IKEA store in Kraków, Poland
In October 2020, IKEA announced that it would buy back unwanted furniture for up to half original price. IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture chain, said it would buy back unwanted furniture from customers and resell these as secondhand products in an attempt to become more environmentally friendly. On the surface of it, this was a great move in terms of the company's ethical objectives and corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as its attempt to act in a more sustainable way. The Swedish company’s Buy Back initiative was launched in stores across the UK and Ireland on 27 November 2020 (the Black Friday discount day).
The scheme is also of direct benefit to IKEA, as customers taking advantage of this initiative receive vouchers to spend in store (i.e. not cash). The value of the returned / unwanted furniture is calculated according to the condition of the items returned. The returned items are put on sale in stores and anything that cannot be resold to customers is simply recycled.
The move by IKEA is an attempt to build a "circular business model" (cradle to cradle design and manufacturing) in which materials and products are reused or recycled. IKEA announced it was investing more than €3.2 billion ($3.76 billion) on sustainability measures in order to become carbon neutral within the next decade (by the end of 2030).
Read more about this story featured in The Guardian by clicking the link here.
Case Study 9 - Tourism, planet, people and profits
With the growth in tourism across the world, many business opportunities are created. However, this creates potentially huge threats to the three pillars of sustainability. The case study refers to Venice, but could equally apply to other highly popular tourist destinations.
Rialto Bridge, Venice, in northeastern Italy
Venice, Italy is a popular city destination for tourists who come from all over the world for the well-preserved architecture (worthy of UNESCO World Heritage status), the waterways, canals, gondolas and bridges of the historic centre, the art culture evident in museums, palaces, the opera and churches.
Increased transport routes, low-cost airlines, cruise ship visits, and the growth of affordable accommodation options, like Airbnb, have helped to create many new business opportunities and increase tourism in Venice. However, its popularity has grown to the extent that it is widely recognised as suffering from overtourism. This means that there are too many tourists for Venice in order to sustain the area (with a population of around 262,000 people) without a worsening of conditions. Some 20 million people visit Venice each year, which averages out to around 54,800 visitors per day (although this easily reaches an estimated 100,000 visitors per day during the peak season). Furthermore, tourists concentrate in hotspot sites within the city, such as the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square resulting in extreme congestion.
Environmental consequences - the threat to ecological sustainability
Litter, congestion and noise pollution are all obvious by-products of tens of thousands of tourists visiting Venice each day, especially in the historic centre of the city. Air and water pollution are also problems caused by the thousands of boats and water taxis used to ferry tourists around.
Water and noise pollution caused by boats in the canals
Cruise ships are also thought to increase erosion from their wake and alter the water channels due to their huge water displacement. These issues have caused what is known as Venice’s ‘sinking’ problem, which is related to subsidence as well as rising sea levels. Although this is not a direct result of tourism, the masses of tourists put additional and perhaps unsustainable stresses on the city’s infrastructure and services which are trying to cope with the subsidence and flooding.
Socio-economic consequences - threats to social and economic sustainability
Local residents are used to living in a highly popular tourist destination and of course there will be numerous economic benefits from the tourism industry, including job opportunities and higher sales revenues from local and foreign tourists. However, the disadvantages include over-dependence on tourism, erosion of other local business and trades, higher prices (inflation), including increased property prices. Indeed, the local property market is now so distorted that there is a lack of affordable rental properties as landlords can earn more money from holiday rentals through Airbnb, for example. This has led to a declining local population, who have been pushed out of the city.
The decline in the quality of the tourism experience is another ‘self-inflicted’ consequence of overtourism in Venice. The views of the city's historic architecture, traditional cultural experiences and boat rides along the canals and waterways are in danger of being ruined by the very presence of the tourists themselves (in huge and growing numbers).
Ultimately, the idea of sustainable tourism is built on the basis of economic sustainability (profit), social sustainability (people) and ecological sustainability (planet) in the framework of a circular economy. Sustainable tourism requires such an approach so that the use of resources can be reduced, recycled and/or reused for further productive use in the industry. Essentially, a circular economy is based on the principles of the preservation and restoration of scarce resources so that once they are used they can be reused in the production process rather than being discarded as waste and/or generated as pollution.
ATL Activity 13 (Thinking skills) - Video Review
Review your understanding of operations management strategies and practices for sustainability by watching this short video. Remember that the model is essentially about providing businesses with new perspective on the rationale for integrating practices for sustainability based on the three pillars of sustainability.
Teacher only boxThe video transcript, which might be useful to share with students for their revision notes, is included below:
The triple bottom line (TBL or 3BL) is a concept that is used a lot when speaking about sustainable development, and particularly sustainability in business. John Elkington, a global authority on corporate responsibility and sustainability coined the phrase in a book in 1997. His argument was that the methods by which companies measure value should include not only a financial bottom line (profit or loss), but a social and environmental one as well. The concept has evolved into one that’s often described as three overlapping circles. You’ve probably seen this image before. Sustainability is typically defined as the place where economy, social realities and environmental health overlap.
The concept of the triple bottom line mainstreamed the idea of sustainability as including people, planet AND profit. It helped business to understand that long-term sustainability of an organization required more than just financial equity. It also helped to clarify that when businesses were considering what sustainability meant for them, it didn’t mean they had to give up the notion of financial success.
But this overlapping circles image of the triple bottom line can convey a lot more. The circles are all the same size. Does this indicate that the economy is the same relative size, or value, as the other two circles, which deal with society and the environment? Can we trade say “2 social and 3 environment for 5 economy” as long as we stay in the overlapping bit in the middle (sustainability)?
Science tells us that, left to its own devices, the planet operates in a balanced way. We call this the cycles of nature and they are powered by energy from the sun. Science also tells us that matter is not created or destroyed, while laws of thermodynamics tell us that everything tends towards dispersal (principle of entropy). Because plant cells are, for all intents and purposes, the only cells that can produce structure from energy, photosynthesis is the process by which matter is structured on our planet. This is why we say that photosynthesis pays the bills. Without it, creation of structure from energy would not occur, and entropy could rule the day.
How does this help us understand the triple bottom line?
Plant cells belong to the environment circle of the triple bottom line. If plant cells are the original creators of structure, then this is the circle on which everything else depends, or in which everything is embedded. Everything comes from nature at some point. Society, which is related to the social circle of the triple bottom line, exists within the environment. And economy is a by-product of society. Instead of three overlapping circles, we have three nested circles, where the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment.
To achieve sustainability, we need to comply with social and environmental conditions: meet human needs within ecological constraints. Does this mean that business has to put financial gain last? Of course not! But economic decisions are part of a strategy to make more money while getting closer to social and ecological sustainability. The economy is a means to an end. Not the end itself.
The triple bottom line model is also related to other aspects of the syllabus, including ethical business objectives and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Exam Practice Question - Samsung
Samsung is a large multinational conglomerate company with operations across the world. It is also South Korea's largest company, accounting for around a fifth of the nation's total exports. It is one of the largest electronics manufacturers on the planet and the world’s largest producer of smartphones with shipments reaching 76.8 million units in the first quarter of 2021.
As a market leader, Samsung has been leading the way in sustainable development in the technology industry for many years. The company has introduced environmentally friendly products such as solar-powered computers as well as energy efficient home appliances. With so many smartphones and tablet devices being sold, Samsung Recycle was set up by the company to enable customers looking to upgrade and/or sell their old phones to trade in their devices online and get paid quickly.
(a) | Define the term market leader. | [2 marks] |
(b) | Outline what it means to be a sustainable business. | [2 marks] |
(c) | Explain two reasons why Samsung might choose to operate in a sustainable way, despite the costs of doing so. | [4 marks] |
(d) | Examine how Samsung might become a more sustainable organization. | [10 marks] |
Teacher only boxAnswers
(a) Define the term market leader. [2 marks]
A market leader is the firm with the greatest market share in a market or industry. As Samsung outsells its rivals in the smartphone manufacturing sector (i.e. it has the largest market share), the company is the industry's market leader.
Award [1 mark] for a response that shows some understanding of the term market leader.
Award [2 marks] for a response that shows a clear understanding of the term market leader, similar to the response above.
(b) Outline what it means to be a sustainable business. [2 marks]
A sustainable business is an organization, like Samsung, that can thrive and grow (via profits) whilst being ethical to the needs of society and environmentally friendly. These businesses have a positive overall impact on their stakeholders and their operations ensure the survival of the firms in the future, i.e. economic, social, and ecological sustainability.
Award [1 mark] for a response that shows some understanding of what is meant by a sustainable business.
Award [2 marks] for a response that shows a good understanding of what is meant by a sustainable business, making reference to ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
(c) Explain two reasons why Samsung might choose to operate in a sustainable way. [4 marks]
Despite the costs associated with striving for sustainability, some businesses choose to operate in a such a way because:
It is the ethical / morally correct thing to do - what is right for the environment and society / the community is also good for the business in the long run.
It can help to enhance the corporate image (reputation) of Samsung in a highly competitive industry.
It can help to improve the morale of Samsung employees, as well as satisfy the interests of other key stakeholder groups of the company.
Operations that minimize waste and pollution are beneficial to Samsung in the future, as higher environmental costs would also harm the company's profitability in the long run.
Accept any other relevant reason that is explained in context.
(d) Examine how Samsung might become a more sustainable organization. [10 marks]
Sustainable business activity is achieved through combining social, economic, and ecological considerations and practices in order to operate in a technically efficient and environmentally friendly way that ensures profitability for the owners.
Possible social considerations and practices of sustainability include:
Activities that generating less pollution and waste, such as the Samsung Recycle initiative.
Policies to promote greater gender equality in the workplace.
Fairer and more transparent operations with suppliers.
Contributing to local communities such as sponsoring local events, supporting local businesses, and working with local charitable organizations.
Accept any other relevant social factor written in the context of the case study.
Possible economic considerations and practices of sustainability include:
Producing new products that are desirable to customers but created in a sustainable way that enable waste minimization and ease of recycling or upcycling.
Providing work opportunities to local people (not necessarily only in South Korea, as Samsung is a large multinational conglomerate company with operations across the world). This helps to reduce problems associated with unemployment.
Fair remuneration packages and employment benefits to all Samsung employees.
Establishing knowledge-sharing and training programmes for Samsung employees.
Accept any other relevant economic factor written in the context of the case study.
Possible ecological considerations and practices of sustainability include:
Use of energy efficient processes, such as Samsung's investments in solar energy programmes. Such practices also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by Samsung's manufacturing processes.
Business operations that conserve natural resources, forests, and habitats for endangered animals and plants
Implement efficient waste management systems in order to reduce pollution levels caused by Samsung's business activities, such as the use of recycling, reducing waste, and finding markets where waste from one area of the business can be used for other areas of the business.
Avoiding or reducing the use of plastic chemicals that produce toxic waste as well as non-biodegrable materials.
Reduce packaging that also contributes to waste. This can be achieved by using reduced materials that can be further reused, recycled, or upcycled.
Avoid unnecessary travel by promoting a culture of work from home (WFH) wherever possible, with the use of teleworking and homeworking technologies.
Accept any other relevant ecological factor written in the context of the case study.
To achieve feasible sustainable practices, Samsung needs to integrate and weigh up the social, economic and ecological impacts of all of the company's diverse business operations.
Award [1 - 2 marks] for an answer that shows a limited understanding of the demands of the question.
Award [3 - 4 marks] for an answer that shows a some understanding of the demands of the question, with an examination of at least one aspect of sustainability, although there is limited application of the case study material.
Award [5 - 6 marks] for an answer that shows a some understanding of the demands of the question, with an examination of at least one aspect of sustainability. There is some use of relevant business management terminology and some application of the case study material.
Award [7 - 8 marks] for an answer that shows understanding of the demands of the question, with an examination of at least two aspects of sustainability. There is good use of business management terminology and good application of the case study material.
Award [9 - 10 marks] for an answer that shows good understanding of the demands of the question, with an examination of all three aspects of sustainability (social, economic, and ecological). There is effective use of business management terminology throughout the response, and consistent application of the case study material.
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