Sustainability in Business: Before & After BA441

Before taking this class, I thought sustainability in business was a tactic imposed by large corporations to apprehend their own environmental impact, and avoid contributing to the growing concerns surrounding the planetary boundaries. When I originally thought of sustainability, the first words that came to mind was clean fuel, waste reduction, and emission reduction. An example of a sustainable business that would come to mind was Starbucks, because of their constain public statements regarding switching to their recycled, plastic lids instead of straws. Based on my experience within Smeal Business classes, of course I was aware of CSR’s and other GRIs. However, I never thought of an organizations’ sustainability efforts as a way for them to market to the target-customer segment that demands actionable sustainability initiatives as a way to increase their profits. Prior to taking this course, the only social impact driven by large corporation operations that I was well-informed about was the sustainable sourcing of raw goods. This knowledge came from my internship at Kellogg’s while working in the sourcing department. Nonetheless, I saw the negative impacts of unsustainably sourcing raw goods as strictly an environmental impact, rather than the social impact it had on the local communities. In addition, it never crossed my mind about how those local communities’ economies were affected by the low incomes the community members were expected to use to survive. In my first blog post, I can be quoted saying “there has to be a level of inequality to inspire competition; competition of being better than another product, individual, or business else triggers improvement, which is typically the continuous goal for society.” This ignorant statement comes from a place of not understanding sustainability, or having experienced true inequality in my personal life events. Following my completion of this course, I do believe that my outlook on sustainability has evolved to be a greater understanding of the inner network that connects large corporations to the unique and sensitive balance that the world sits within.

Now, I think sustainability in business is truly about the intermingling of social, environmental, and economic strategic aspects funneled into a strategic plan to revitalize corporate practices to ensure longevity of corporate functions and initiatives. I would say my greatest takeaway from this course in regards to sustainability is that big corporations are crucial to society, the environment, and the world’s economy; however, their actions and business itself can and must also positively impact all three to ensure the sustainability of our kind. I have also come to understand that sustainability is not a simple goal with a specific deadline, but rather an integrated plan that is supported both internally and externally. As someone who will be entering into ‘Corporate America’ upon graduation, I have come to understand and respect my role to actively encourage and support sustainability efforts within my own place of work. Our time and work done within this class understanding the social inequality that has been bred into our country has changed my perspective on the importance of social initiatives within corporate strategies. To summarize, sustainability to me no longer means reducing the carbon emission levels from a manufacturing plant, but rather a strategic, integrated plan within a company to truly make a difference, and change the entire way industries think of ‘impact.’