The goal of the business is to become a ‘company that creates better life for everyone’. Sustainability helps create social and environmental value for businesses. New technology will empower individuals and communities.
The world expects businesses intend to create sustainable social and environmental value through its mid-to long-term goals in sustainability management.
In the recent years, it is experienced that the structural uncertainties in the global economy, increasing competition in industry, and shifts in technological paradigm with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and big data act as both challenges for sustainable growth as well as opportunities to reinforce fundamental competitiveness of companies.
Corporate world should give focused on the human benefits of technologies. Digitalisation is driving industries in more sustainable ways and further improving individual lives and the planet.
Technology helps change the way we consume to enable a more sustainable future and a healthier planet. It is also imperative that the digital divide is not widened and no one is left behind.
Businesses need to actively respond to the changing industrial environment by introducing products to lead the market through innovation and developing new business areas to continuously generate performance.
Businesses will have to establish mid- to long-term goals for sustainability in order to meet stakeholder interests and expectations.
Broadly sustainability management represents activities that are implemented for continuous generation of value for all stakeholders, including customers and beyond. Continuous strengthening of the system and capacity to respond to the changes in market demands and social/environmental risks must be the prime focus of sustainability programmes.
Businesses are also required to continue to strengthen their key profit-producing businesses by identifying differentiated customer values, and create substantial results by investing sufficient resources into new businesses to lead the growth of the company.
Corporations need to rapidly expand their sector of future technologies such as AI, robotics, big data, and 5G by staying ahead of the game in discovering possibilities and escalating commercialization.
In order to provide customers with new experiences in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, characterized by a hyper-connected and super-intelligent society, business needs clear focus on it.
Corporations must demonstrate their core competence in areas where they can deliver its best performance, including product development, the establishment of carbon neutrality and circular ecosystem, the creation of high-quality jobs and social contribution activities.
Businesses urgently require to adopt the plans to pursue carbon neutrality and contribute to the circular economy through the reduction of CO2 emissions, development of energy efficient products, reduction in the harmful environmental impacts of products, and management of waste from all production stages and usage of products.
Businesses also have plans to play a leading role in creating a better society by supporting the creation of a sustainable business ecosystem throughout the supply chain and promoting work-life balance, while also creating safer workplaces, encouraging employees to participate in volunteer activities, and contributing more to society by utilizing the company’s products and services.
Organisations need to develop robust plans to deliver ‘intelligent lifestyles’ by innovative products for consumer health. Eco-friendly product development strategies eliminating health risks, and improving energy and resource efficiency are needed for hours.
Finally, organisations must recognize the role of their business in fulfilling the social responsibilities required for creating a better lives and environment.
Larger organisations must utilize various disclosure channels, such as the sustainability report, to proactively share non-financial information with its key stakeholders.
Key Words: Rusen Kumar, Sustainability in India, Sustainability Vision, Sustainability
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(Rusen Kumar is the founder and managing editor of India CSR. He regularly writes on Sustainability and CSR)
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