Sustainability in Global Business - Essay Example

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS By Location Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Business Introduction A Sustainable Business refers to a business whose negative influence to the local environment, communities, society, and economy are minimal. In some cases such business organizations are always referred to as green businesses. There are criteria that are normally used to determine whether or not a business organization is sustainable. For instance, a business is considered to be sustainable if it has a way of incorporating sustainability principles in every decision that the business makes. A business is sustainable if the products and services that it supplies are environmentally friendly or lead to a rise in demand for environmental friendly goods and services. A business is also considered to be sustainable it happens to be greener than the business organizations that it directly compete with for market capital. The final consideration is that the business needs to have made a commitment of adhering to environmental principles in their operations. With reference to Wissol Petroleum, this paper aims at discussing how the company can meet the challenges of sustainable business specifically for the predicted business environment of 2054. Background Wissol Petroleum is a company in Georgia that operates one of the largest service station networks in Georgia. The company currently runs over 100 service stations in Georgia. It is known as the leading retail petroleum service provider in the country. The company has Italy as its source of fuel as well as a number of other sources in Europe. It is predicted that business organization in 2054 will be facing multiple operational challenges, some which are not faced by business organizations currently. These challenges range from a shortage of raw materials, increased civil unrest, global warming, social inequalities, and other required resources for successful production. Inability to cope with these production conditions will definitely mean that the business organization will be incapable of maintaining and enhancing their sustainability standards. However, proper preparation will enable business organizations such as Wissol Petroleum to sustainably cope with such operation environments (Dovì, Friedler, Huisingh&Klemeš 2009, p. 892). Discussion Economic sustainability The economic performance of the petroleum industry in general has improved over the past few years. It is estimated that in the year 2054, the business environment then will make it very hard for such increases to be realized. However, in preparation to meeting such challenges there are a number of things that Wissol Petroleum can do in order to make sure that they will still be economically suitable when that time comes. One of the things that they can do towards the realization of this success is by reducing their production cost. However, this should be done with consideration of the effect that their activities might have either directly or indirectly to the environment around their areas of production and the whole world generally (Rana 2010, p. 33). This is because their products will be consumed all over the country. So they should also consider the effects that their products will have to the environment wherever the products will be used. Sustainability of raw material source One thing that Wissol Petroleum could check on is the raw materials that they use and their sources. A good number of the raw materials that are used for production of petroleum products at Wissol Petroleum are minerals. This is an implication that these products are non-renewable. Mineral activities usually have a number of negative effects to the environment and the communities living around the mining sites. This makes some mining activities unfriendly to the environment (Godec& Johnson 2005, p.81). The effect that extraction of these raw materials can have on the environment include water and air pollution, scarcity of water, and displacement of communities that were living at the mining sites before the mining commenced. Excessive mining activities can also lead to geological deformation. To deal with these environmental concerns there are a number of things that the management at Wissol Petroleum can do. For instance, they can make sure encourage safe transportation of their raw materials. This will play a very importantrole in reducing the possibility of there being fatal accidents that can lead to massive losses and negative effects to the environment and the society. Being that minerals are inflammableresources, encouraging proper transportation will be highly beneficial in making sure that the business organization protects the environment (Niven 2005, p. 544). Given the prediction of scarcity of non-renewable resources in 2054, developing a production system which will enable them to safely transport these raw products can really help them in meeting the sustainability challenges in this industry. The company might also consider making sure that they encourage transparency in the supply chains of their raw material. Given the fact that the supply takes place through a big chain, there is a possibility that the raw materials they used might be a result of non-green activities that their suppliers might involve in (Rubin, Chen & Rao 2007, p. 4447). Some of the suppliers have been discovered to be subjecting their workers, the local communities, and the environment to non-green treatment during their endeavors. Through engaging their suppliers in programs aimed at sensitizing them on the importance of business sustainability, they might be able to get them to reconsider reviewing their operations (Upham, Thornley, Tomei& Boucher 2009, p. 45). With their suppliers adhering to the sustainability standards, Wissol Petroleum will be able to make sure that the processes through which they acquire petroleum do not pose any challenges to the environment. Job dependence and employee safety The company should have put into consideration is the number of individuals that get jobs in the business. The petroleum manufacturing industry in the Georgia is well known for the number of people they employ. As time goes by the population in the Georgia is likely to increase thus there will be increased need for job creation. In order to be able to of value to the society, the company should avoid adopting certain technologies that will limit the number of employees that the business requires for their production processes. In this way they will be able to maximize the number of people who are employed in Wissol Petroleum. Given that there is a high risk in dealing with petroleum producers such as Wissol Petroleum, to make sure that they put in place measures that will make sure that their employees work in environments that are safe. For instance, at their service stations they might consider building sure storage for the highly inflammable petroleum products that will make sure that accidents that can result from poor handling of these products do not take place. They can also opt for better transportation methods for their products (Rocca &Viberti 2013, p. 34). This will not only be in the bid to ensure the safety of their products but the public in general. They should also make sure that there are no leakages in their mode of transport system to make sure that their products do not end up in the environment. With such cautions taken, Wissol Petroleum will be able to increase their sustainability levels. Sustainability of products Wissol Petroleum should make sure that they reduce the level of damage that the use of their products might have on the environments. The use of petroleum products is known to be one of the leading causes of global warming globally. This is because of the gasses that are usually emitted due to the combustion of the fuels that are used to keep these machines running. Given that there is an anticipated increase in the demands for their products, it will be good for the company to consider coming up with products whose combustion has limited effects to the environment (Schweitzer 2010, p. 23). Given that most of the fuels such as diesel and petrol are non-renewable sources of energy, making sure that there is minimal fuel consumption will be highly beneficial the environment and societies in the world generally. Given the popularity of the campaign against global warming, it would be wise for Wissol Petroleum to consider investing in provision of more environmental friendly sources of energy.As time goes by governments all over the world are getting more concerned with the rate at which business organizations contribute to global warming (Neff & Hagemann 2007, p. 47). The alternative sources of energy that can be considered when coming up with the new products are hydroelectric power and hydrogen power. These sources of power are believed to have zero or very minimal negative effect to the environment. Through such production activities, Wissol Petroleum can be able to reduce the level to which their product would of effect to the environment. Government involvement The government of Georgia is likely to put many restrictions to the automotive manufacturers and their contribution to the society and the environment. The government is likely to do this by potting more financial responsibilities to these companies. Most of the revenues that are always collected from business organizations usually go back to the societies. They are used in the development of facilities and provision of services that are meant to make the lives of general public better so by adhering to these responsibilities in the company will be indirectly contributing to the wellbeing of societies in Georgia. Another expectation of the government is that they have been increasingly keeping watch on carbon emitted by companies in this industry. This means that Wissol Petroleum will be forced to reduce the amount of carbon emissions. The company is also expected to communicate their development strategies to the government so that the government would make sure that the strategies are in line with the sustainability standards of the country. This is in the aim of making sure that these strategies have no potential harm to the environment. For Wissol Petroleum to complete be sustainable in the year 2054, there must be a change in its business model. This is because the business model that is viable in the current business environment will be completely unviable in the business environment of the year 2054. Aspects such as market demand, availability of resources, government restrictions, competition, technology, and civil activism will all have changed by then. In order to be sustainable in this new model the company will seriously need to review their business model if in any case they would want to remain relevant in this industry. Recommendations There are a number of things that Wissol Petroleum should do in order to make sure that they achieve the sustainability standards that are herein mentioned. One of such things is by making early planning. With knowledge of the changes thatmight take place in their industry, it will not be wise for them to wait till they get that state for them to start planning for the changes. One reason as to why forecasting is good in business is that it always allows for early planning. Apart from making early plans the company should also make sure that they gradually make the necessary changes in their production processes (Schwartz, Parker, Hess &Frumkin 2011, p. 101). This will help them in avoiding problems that are always associated to instantaneous changes in business operations Wissol Petroleum can also take advantage of this knowledge in making sure that there is a smooth transition from the current production and operation system to the production and operation system that will be completely suitable for the business environment of 2054. Conclusion It is clearly evident that there are a number of challenges that are associated to making sure that a business is sustainable. However, the business environment is getting to a level where the sustainability of a business organization is for the business’ benefit. The petroleum industry is considered to be one of the most non-sustainable industries in the world. This means that the challenges of meeting sustainability standards in this industry are higher. It needs allot of commitment to sustainability for a business in this industry to overcome the challenges that are associated to sustainability in this industry. For Wissol, Petroleum to be in a position to successfully take up sustainable operation, they will need to have proper strategies in place. Bibliography Dovì, VG, Friedler, F, Huisingh, D &Klemeš, JJ 2009, “Cleaner energy for sustainable future”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(10), 889-895. Godec, ML & Johnson, NL 2005, “Quantifying environmental benefits of improved oil and gas exploration and production technology”, In SPE/EPA/DOE Exploration and Production Environmental Conference. Society of Petroleum Engineers. Neff, JM &Hagemann, RE 2007, “Environmental challenges of heavy crude oils: Management of liquid wastes”, In E&P Environmental and Safety Conference. Society of Petroleum Engineers. 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