The Next Phase of Business Sustainability

Dr. Sandra Waddock believes companies need to fundamentally change their design structure and purposes, so they can incorporate sustainability and social issues into their core purposes. This would allow them to no longer be single mindedly focused on just maximising their shareholder profit, which is a systemic change that is at a broader and deeper level then just creating CSR initiatives to do good. This results in a different system where companies deal with sustainability, social justice, and social equity. Civil societies and nongovernmental organizations now have a huge role in fostering corporate citizenships and there is now a huge explosion of CSOs and NGOs pressuring companies to partake in more responsible behaviour. Companies would not do so without the pressure. People have created institutions that she calls, CSR infrastructures, whose job it is to pressure these companies into implementing changes. The outcome of this, with the help of internet transparency, has automatically enabled companies to give into the pressure and are being pushed towards better behaviours.

In the future, there will be more pressure as more people are becoming aware of the problems and issues going on in our world. Community activists and NGOs also form coalitions as they become more aware of these issues. However, they need to use the opportunities technology provides to combine their ideas and resources to form coalitions and assert stronger pressure in organizations, governments, and within ourselves in society.

Positive change is always needed. This can be seen through communities forming a collective action by coming together to present petitions, which we will see more of in the future as CSOs and NGOs become more sophisticated in technology. The availability of technology and connectivity allows companies to be more transparent, whether they want to be or not, as data is now readily available for anyone to see and use. We also now see big companies involving themselves in issues usually associated with being the government’s concern, such as education. Big companies are also now starting social enterprises that encourages the company to create more sustainable business practices. These changes can reflect a change in the world through the setting of standards as technology continues to evolve and develop.

These opinions are commonly shared throughout Chandler’s texts. Corporations now have a benefit in which a new class of corporations meets new standards, voluntarily, for different purposes, accountability and transparency. If there is a broader interest within shareholders to increase sustainability practices then a firm creates new operating procedures that show more transparency and accountability. This would be embedded throughout the firm. Social activists have gained a stronger reputation and are becoming more relevant, they are able to better encourage a change in behaviour. They demand greater transparency and accountability throughout various on goings within an organization, like what Dr. Waddock mentioned, the transparency occurs whether the organization wants it to or not. As a result of this, organizations are beginning to anticipate the demands for greater transparency and accountability that they would receive for their environmental and sustainable practices.