Sustainable Development Approach In Business

Realization of Sustainable Development Approach in Business

The role of business is becoming critical for sustainable development because it has become a major player in generating wealth and in integrating global markets. In the post-liberalization scenario, the role of government to a large extent has reduced to that of a facilitator than that of a regulator in enforcing socio-environmental objectives in the business sector. The business sector now has to undertake voluntary and non-regulatory initiatives to meet the goals of sustainable development. This has given rise to a concept of corporate social responsibility, which now assumes greater significance to realize the goals of sustainable and balanced growth.

The late 1990s and early

In the words of Gary M.Pfeiffer, Senior Vice President and Chief Finance Officer of DuPont “every corporation is under intense pressure to create ever-increasing shareholder value. Enhancing environmental and social performance are enormous business opportunities to do just that”.

The investment community increasingly recognized the importance of intangibles in the shareholder value equation. Leadership, strategy execution, brand, human capital, environment and health performance are all currencies in today’s market place. A report on the Intangibles Economy to the European Commission noted that “Intangibles such as research & development, proprietary know-how, intellectual property and work force skills, world-class supply network and brands are now the key drivers of wealth production while physical and financial assets are increasingly regarded as

Sustainable development can provide business with an opportunity to innovate and a means to grow at each level and step of business operation. Making the right choices within a company, whether it is newly exposed to the concept of sustainable development or is already advancing its sustainability agenda, contributes to the company’s long term success.

Collaboration among business, government and civil society is an essential way to deal with these issues that increasingly affect business. This includes gaining an understanding of specific social issues at the local level; developing low-cost technologies or business training programmes for local entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises; establishing independent certification bodies to ensure sustainable management of natural resources and encouraging governments to establish international regulatory frameworks needed to handle global issues such as climate