SUSTAINAB
LE
DEVELOPM
ENT
By: Lyle Fatima Calagsing
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this module, the students will be able to:
1. Acquire knowledge of sustainable development
2. Understand Sustainable Challenges and Opportunities amidst
World Economic and social Crises
3. Discuss why Sustainable Development is good for business
and the importance of good leadership in achieving
sustainability.
4. Describe how businesses can be change agents to overcome
barriers to sustainable development
DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable development is the idea that human societies must live and
meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs. The “official” definition of sustainable
development was developed for the first time in the Brundtland Report
in 1987.
Specifically, sustainable development is a way of organizing society so
that it can exist in the long term. This means taking into account both
the imperatives present and those of the future, such as the
preservation of the environment and natural resources or social
HOW DID THE IDEA OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GET
RELEVANT?
The industrial revolution is connected to the rise of the idea
of sustainable development. From the second half of the
19th century, Western societies started to discover that their
economic and industrial activities had a significant impact
on the environment and the social balance. Several
ecological and social crises took place in the world and rose
awareness that a more sustainable model was needed
WORLD ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CRISES
BANK PANIC OF 1907
WHAT WAS THE BANK PANIC OF 1907?
The Bank Panic of 1907 occurred at the beginning of
the twentieth century. It was the result of
shrinking market liquidity and dwindling depositor
confidence. In addition to this, there were plans to
regulate trust companies. At the time, trust companies
faced increased public scrutiny for adhering to less
regulation than national or state banks.
The Crisis of American Hyper Inflation (1923)
The Weimar government's main crisis occurred in 1923 after the Germans missed
a reparations payment late in 1922. This set off a chain of events that included
occupation, hyperinflation and rebellions.
The Financial Crisis (1923)
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American
stock market crash that occurred in the fall of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October,
when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed.
WHY IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOOD FOR
BUSINESS
Increasingly, businesses are making strategic decisions around the type and
extent of their corporate sustainability policies. In addition to environmental
and social benefits, companies that incorporate sustainable development
into decision-making processes can reap significant financial advantages
and attract more interest from investors, which is a key to long-term
profitability.
Yet sustainable development can have a variety of meanings, depending
on the business context. To better understand this, below are several
concepts as applied in terms of the environment, employment practices and
business practices.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability can be applied
in many ways, such as creating alternative
routes in a production process to reduce
waste generation and increase water and
energy efficiencies. Investment in renewable
energy is also growing momentum among big
organizations, with many building their own
solar or wind farms, in order to phase out the
consumption of fossil fuels and reduce their
carbon emissions.
Sustainability and employment
Businesses with strategies that are
sustainable in the long run pay their
workers’ salaries and benefits that allow
them to live a sustainable life within their
community. This builds loyalty within the
organization, benefiting the company
through increased productivity and
creativity, as well as lower levels of fraud
and mismanagement. Besides, when
organizations look to improve the health
and well-being of communities, they are
able to motivate employees who are
genuinely interested in contributing to the
success of the business.
Sustainability in business practices
Pushed by growing demands from consumers for products
and services that cause minimal effects to the ecosystems,
corporations have shown interest in bringing sustainability
aspects to the core of the business. Another driving force
behind this is the pressure from investors, who are already
considering the level of corporate social responsibility, in
other words, the role of businesses to address the needs of
society, as a decisive factor on their choice of organizations
to allocate capital.
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD
LEADERSHIP IN ACHIEVING
SUSTAINABILITY
HOW BUSINESSES CAN BE CHANGE AGENTS TO OVERCOME BARRIERS
TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Everyone has something they need to change. Whether it
be a senior manager or client’s mind, transforming an
organization, consumer behavior, industries, or even the
world. But change is hard and often nothing happens
despite the greatest of efforts at the highest of costs.
Here’s what the experts say about overcoming
them:
• Use sustainability as a unique selling point
• Think long term
• Communicate differently
• Embed sustainability throughout your organization
• Improve management skills
• Take risks
• Disrupt old business models
• Network
• Support other sustainable businesses
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Than
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ks!
