Introduction As you navigate through the unit (using the arrows), make sure you

Introduction
As you navigate through the unit (using the arrows), make sure you click on the different links, read through the content, and watch the videos. Consider any parts that are unclear to you, including new terms, and make note of them in your learning journal.
Licenses and AttributionsHands and Earth [Image]. Provided By: Piqsels. License: CC0-1.0
Introduction
Sustainability in BusinessSustainability has become such an important concept that it is frequently used interchangeably with CSR. Indeed, for some companies it seems that CSR is sustainability. This is perhaps not surprising, given the growing media attention on issues related to sustainability.
Watch: The Business Case for SustainabilityWatch the video The Business Case for Sustainability to learn how business can increase their value by integrating sustainability into its corporate DNA.
A sustainable corporation is one that can sustain its current activities without adding to the world’s environmental problems. Sustainability is therefore a very challenging goal, and many environmentalists maintain that no corporation today operates sustainably, since all use energy (leading to the gradual depletion of fossil fuels while emitting greenhouse gases) and all produce waste products like garbage and industrial chemicals. Whether or not true sustainability will be attainable anytime in the near future, the development and promotion of sustainability strategies has become virtually an obsession of most large corporations today, as their websites will attest in their inevitable reference to the corporation’s sincere commitment to sustainability and responsible environmental practices. No corporation or corporate executive today will be heard to say that they do not really care about the environment. However, if we observe their actions rather than their words, we may have cause for doubt.
READ and TAKE NOTES on the following:
Harvard Business School Online’s What Does Sustainability Mean in Business to learn about sustainability in business and how businesses can create a more sustainable business model.
Licenses and AttributionsIntro to Business: Corporate Social ResponsibilityAuthored by: Linda Williams and Lumen Learning. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
Introduction
Sustainable Business”In the face of rising global competition, technological change and the most serious economic downturn in nearly a century, corporate commitment to the principles of sustainability remains strong throughout the world”. New Era
According to Leadership for the Decade of Action Survey of 2020, 92 percent of CEOs believe the integration of sustainability is critically important to business success
The United Nations Global Compact has called global companies to take action to align their companies with standards and operations that will advance societal goals. Review the United Nations Global Compact website to learn about its mission and focus areas.
The United Nations Global Compact teams with Russell Reynolds Associates to produce Leadership for the Decade of Action Survey of 2020. Read the Forward (page 2) to define sustainability and describe how CEOs have begun to embed these principles into the policies and operations of their corporations. Further, it explains some of the challenges that have arisen, and what the new era of sustainability should begin to look like.
Companies in ActionReview the Business Round-table’s Embracing Sustainability Challenge to see how CEOs of companies such as Walmart, JP Morgan Chase, and General Motors are leading the way through investments, innovation and strategic decisions, toward a more environmentally and economically sustainable future.
Ray Anderson, from Flor carpeting, has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional “take / make / waste” industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.
Watch: TitleRay Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional “take / make / waste” industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.
1).Discussion Forum
Write a paragraph of 300 words or more on ONE of the following prompts.
Based upon the principles of sustainability as outlined in this article, along with the “conditions necessary for creating a new era of sustainability” (on page 21), explain what the major issues would be in your community in order for a new corporation to begin operations there. What areas would the company need to invest in, in order to remain a sustainability business and to socially benefit the area in which it operates? What ideas do you have for how the business could invest in these areas?
—OR—
Please share, in your own words, why you believe the United Nations Global Compact group has initiated the leadership survey . Why are they interested in what CEOs of companies are doing? Why are some of the most prominent CEOs willing to spend time on this study? What is the relevance to business and its relationship to society?
UoPeople APA Tutorials in the LRC for help with APA citations.
2).Learning Journal
For example, consider the following when completing your learning journal entries:
Describe what you did. This does not mean that you copy and paste from what you have posted or the assignments you have prepared. You need to describe what you did and how you did it.
Describe your reactions to what you did.
Describe any feedback you received or any specific interactions you had. Discuss how they were helpful.
Describe your feelings and attitudes this week.
Describe what you learned – was there anything that you were confused by?
Another set of questions to consider in your learning journal statement include:
What surprised me or caused me to wonder?
What happened that felt particularly challenging? Why was it challenging to me?
What skills and knowledge do I recognize that I am gaining?
What am I realizing about myself as a learner?
In what ways am I able to apply the ideas and concepts gained to my own experience?