Bottom Line And Sustainable Development †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Bottom Line And Sustainable Development? Answer: Introduction: The aim of the study is to delve into triple bottom line and sustainable development in the construction industry. The paper takes into a hypothetical company called S Corporation which functions in the construction sector and carries out international civil engineering and trading operations. The first section introduces S Corporation and its operations. The next section deals with general concept of TBL and sustainable development followed by relationship between the two concepts. The next sections delve into the significance of TBL and sustainable development followed by their importance in construction sector. The next two sections deal with Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) in a construction company and challenges to sustainability. S Corporation is the financial and construction wing of a British business conglomerate. The headquarters of the company is located in London, the United Kingdom and its branch offices are located in countries like the US, France, India and Australia. The business of the S Corporation consists of global engineering projects, trade and investment, fashion and resorts. Strategies and analysis: The strategies of S Corporation are to become a global business partners and to earn higher profits. An analysis of the strategies of S Corporation shows that it aims to attain sustainability and bring about new products by fusing technology and fashion. Organisational profile of S Corporation: S Corporation is an international construction, trading, fashion and resort company. The company is a public limited company listed on the London Stock Exchange and is able to generate capital from the capital market. Reporting Parameters: The reporting parameters of S Corporation are divided into three branches. The company is led by the CEO. The heads of the finance, marketing, human resource, civil engineering and trading departments report to the CEO. All the employees strive to deliver high level of performance after the global standards of performance set by the apex management. Governance, commitments and engagements: The company is under strict governance of the stakeholders like governments and customers. The company is committed to benefit its stakeholders especially shareholders. The company engages in commercial construction, fashion and trading and investments all over the world(Ayuso, et al. 2014). General Concept of triple bottom line(TBL) and sustainable development: Triple Bottom Line: Triple bottom line or TBL is an accounting framework which considers three elements namely, social, environmental and financial. The term was coined by Elkington to refer to the impact the operations of the organisations have on the society and that those impacts have financial implications as well. The three bottom line concept stands on 3Ps which every multinational organisation use to operate. The first bottom line consisting of social factors consider the human factor or capital organisations use to operate. The multinational corporations like S Corporation regard their human resources as potential capital important for their productivity(Govindan, Khodaverdi and Jafarian 2013). The second element of TBL takes into account environment and considers it as natural capital. It considers that construction companies like S Corporation derive their raw materials from the environment and hence should work towards reduction of pollution caused by their construction works. The third element of triple bottom line framework is financial or economic bottom-line. The economic bottom line deals with economic creation of value the organisations earn after deducting the cost of the inputs and investments from the profits. The profit aspect of the triple bottom line emphasises that the profits companies earn should be enjoyed by the host society. The profit earned is the impact organisations have on their economic environment through their operations(Milne and Gray 2013). Sustainable development: Sustainable development is the theory which deals with continuing of human economic activities and simultaneously sustaining the ecological balance in nature. The companies like S Corporation exploit the resources provided by nature to operate and generate revenue. These organisations invest funds to install modern machinery to carry on their construction work with causing minimum harm to the environment. They are increasingly emphasising on recycling wastes and use it to generate renewable forms of energy like wind energy. Thus, it can be reviewed that sustainable development refers to exploitation of natural resources and taking measures to minimise environmental pollution(Holden, Linnerud and Banister 2017). Relationship between triple bottom line and sustainable development: The triple bottom line and sustainable development are closely related to each other. The key principles of triple bottom line are that business operations are outcome of use of human capital, natural capital or resources and economic capital. The element of natural capital says that business operations derive their raw materials from nature and should work towards minimising of their impact of their operations on nature. It can be pointed out that this is same as sustainable development, which emphasises exploiting natural resources and controlling pollution simultaneously. Thus it can be inferred that triple bottom line and sustainable development are interrelated(Onat, Kucukvar and Tatari 2014). Significance of TBL in sustainability: Triple bottom line (TBL) is defined as the accounting framework that includes the three dimensions of performance namely social, environmental and economic. The social, environmental and economic value of an investment helps in evaluating the performance of an organization in a wider perspective in order to generate greater organizational value. The three dimensions upon which TBL emphasizes are people, planet and profits (Onat, Kucukvar and Tatari 2014). Nowadays, sustainability has been an important part of the goals and objectives of the business enterprises. TBL emphasizes upon the accuracy of the value assets and proper utilization of those resources such that it ensures that the capital is effectively employed. TBL relates to sustainable development, which aims at meeting the needs and requirements of the present generation as well as preserving the resources for the upcoming generations. TBL and sustainable development have become an important part of economic development, whi ch comprises of business, finance and real estate (Savitz 2013). TBL has become highly significant in sustainability as the investors and managers aim at improving the accounting and strengthening the performance of the investments along with aligning the investments with the requirements and priorities of the society. TBL accounting enhances the reporting framework by considering social performance as well as environmental performance along with the traditional financial performance. The organizations nowadays, are required to consider the impact of their businesses upon the environment, society and the economy of the nation in which they operate. For this purpose, the organizations have come up with the idea of Corporate Social responsibility wherein, the organizations contribute a portion of their profits in the development of the society and the environment. TBL encourages the organizations to cater to the needs of the stakeholder rather than just emphasizing upon the needs of the shareholders. The stakeholders involve the organizational emplo yees, customers, creditors, suppliers, the surrounding environment, owners of the business and the society (Kibert 2016). S Corporation has emphasized upon the sustainable construction wherein the company has ensured that the construction activities do not impose any harm to the environment and the society. S Corporation has ensured that it follows the concept of sustainable development along the triple bottom line. The company has been involved in several CSR activities and has helped in the upliftment of the society, improvement of the environment and economic development of the nations in which it operates. Concept of sustainable construction: Sustainable construction refers to the type of construction that involves such construction designs, materials, technology and processes that help in the sustainable development of buildings and roads. Sustainable construction involves regeneration of houses that help in social and economic development. Nowadays, the construction companies use the concept of sustainable construction to ensure that the natural resources are used wisely and efficiently by minimizing the extraction of minerals and protecting the environment of the area. Sustainable construction involves lowering the environmental impacts of construction while providing comfort and durability to the customers or the occupants. Sustainable construction involves the minimal utilization of water, energy, land and raw materials. Sustainable construction provides positive after effects to the society and the environment in the long- run by minimizing the harmful impacts of construction activities (Wilson 2015). Significance of TBL in sustainable construction: Sustainable development in construction industry is related to the minimal utilization of water, energy, land and raw materials during the construction process. Sustainable construction considers the triple bottom lines while ensuring its sustainability. TBL is highly significant in sustainable construction as it emphasizes upon reducing the negative impacts of the construction activities on the environment, society and the economy. While emphasizing upon the TBL, the construction companies emphasize upon the minimum utilization of natural resources in order to preserve the nature (Gou and Xie 2017). It emphasizes upon the maintenance of the quality of construction so that the society can obtain benefits from there. Sustainable construction also encourages the construction companies to remain transparent in its activities. Sustainable construction also helps in reducing the operating costs and thus improving the economy. Sustainable report for the company: S Corporation is an international British construction company and has largely been focusing on the construction projects and global engineering, investment and trade, resorts and fashion. The organization is being governed by the Board of Directors which includes a group of eleven members, CEOs and President of the four groups. Headquartered in London, the company now has its offices at over fifty countries (Lee et al. 2013). Strategies and Analysis: The company has a wide strategic level for its growth and sustainability. Initially, all the business categories were formed as independent company, which is still an important issue of the company. The company focuses on the business operations, international investment and trading, construction and engineering. The construction and engineering group is involved with the building works, plant works, housing works and civil works. The investment and trading group is engaged in the development of natural resource, sale and manufacture of the electronics products, trading of iron, steel, basic materials, chemicals, operation of several brands for the textile industry and plant supply (Bebbington, Unerman and O'Dwyer 2014). The basic Corporate Social Responsibility strategies include developing the community. It focuses on establishing its business ecosystem as well as localization within the key markets. It is engaged in increasing the opportunity for contract awards in the key markets in order to strengthen the market continuity and build foundation of the growth. Furthermore, it focuses on working with the local partners and talents in order to enhance the competitiveness and also to build consumer confidence. It is realizing the companys sustainable future with its stakeholders through profitable growth and global competitiveness (Chen, Ong and Hsu 2016). Organizational profile: The board of S Corporation has installed, which is operating in several committees, thus, helping the company to raise its efficiency by providing professional expertise at the work processes. Committee resolution is made within the delegated authority, which has similar effect as that of the board resolution. All the proceedings, operation as well as the authorization of the organization are in a written form for each of the committee, which needs to be adhered. The board structure comprises nine directors, four executive and five independent directors. The independent directors are the outside directors, who dont have any special ties with the company (Yeh and Liao 2015). Reporting parameters: The report is primarily done on the basis of Global Reporting Initiatives, abbreviated as GRI, which describe its strategies as well as the Corporate Social Responsibility management activities. This report covers the analysis of the strategies, organizational profile, management approach, governance, commitments and engagement of the company. This report covers the companys buildings and sites in which their operations occur. Along with that, it includes the economic, social and environmental achievements of the company, both overseas and domestic (Lee et al. 2013). Governance, commitments and engagement: S Corporations Board of Directors attempts to protect the investors rights and also promote the long term progress or growth of the organization. Being the topmost decision makers, the Board of Directors or BOD decides and deliberates on important issues concerning laws and the Articles of Incorporation. The matters are looked after by the Shareholders General Meeting or the companys executives, for its successful operation. The company commits to develop the community by delivering the customers quality products and value added services (Gou and Xie 2017). Safety of the employees is their first priority. They have created a safe workplace for the employees, by providing them with safe equipments and services. Moreover, they also ensure the safety of their consumers by providing them with verified products and services. In successful companies, safety is regarded as a value. They have also engaged themselves in increasing the value of the customers, fostering the employees by promoti ng safe and secured work environment, responsible partnerships and stakeholders, compliance management and supporting the community (Blewitt and Tilbury 2013). Management approach: The company offers various programs and management services. It offers a pension program for the retired employees in order to secure them with a stable income source after their retirement. The Labor management council helps in promoting the employees welfare for their sound development and growth. It strives to form a structured compliance for the organizational system as well as to enhance the compliance within their corporate culture. There vision is sustainable growth and development, by becoming one of the most ethical and transparent organization, through efficient preemptive activities and risk management measures (Yeh and Liao 2015). Challenges and issues in reporting sustainability The changes in the policies of any business pose a great challenge for the sustainable reporting. The changes often require the involvement or engagement of the stakeholders as well as the shareholders. Engaging them gives a clear picture of the companys competitors. Moreover, the measuring and reporting sustainability requires getting actual data from the suppliers. Social values must be incorporated while reporting and creating a long term orientation, to maintain the leadership position (Chen, Ong and Hsu 2016). Conclusion To conclude, S Corporation has been a major corporation body in todays business scenario. They are aware of their responsibility in showing a strong leadership in this fourth industrial revolutions era. Moreover, their commitment to the society is highly commendable. They have created a safe workplace for the employees, by providing them with safe equipments and services. 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