Meaning and issues
Sustainability refers to the concept of perpetual use of resources without depletion. For sustainability to be achieved, the resource utility must be strategic and informed by reason and due care. Sustainability, therefore, seeks to strike a compromise between two often conflicting objectives. These are the fact that development can only be achieved through utility of resources and the fact that the future interests and long term needs must be considered. In that strain, sustainability cannot be narrowly interpreted to refer to environmental conservation. It is all inclusive and involves several aspects. Sustainability denotes ecological and natural balance maintenance, minimization of destruction and wreckage of resource bases and the consistent application of principles in tandem with conservation undertones. One may explain away sustainability by importing the fact that it calls for a consideration of longer term objectives and goals rather than selfishly limiting oneself to short term returns.
Sustainability issues, therefore, are many as they are diverse. The discourse on sustainability has a bias for environmental conservation. Pundits and analysts alike have argued for the application of practices that retain the ecological balance. The concept of climate change and the attendant debate compound the issues of sustainability. Climate change, for instance, has been rightly attributed to the irresponsible depletion of the flora and fauna on the earth surface. In other words, the earth has lost too much and the consequences are seen in the rising average temperatures, a direct indication that the ecological balance has been disturbed.
On the other hand, the debate on depletion of mineral and natural resources continues to emphasize the concept of sustainability further. This is because most corporate and investment companies have buried their heads in the sand and obliviously exploit resources without minding the environmental effects and the attendant ecological disturbance. Consequently, derelict sites and polluted sources continue to characterise sceneries that previous hosted precious minerals and other natural resources. The arguments for sustainability call on such companies to ensure they indeed conserve the environment, attempt to reclaim the derelict land and earth surfaces. In addition, another typical issue that arises in any discourse on sustainability relates to air pollution and waste release. It is not surprising that with the advent of industrialisation, the rates of air pollution have since plummeted. What happens is that more and more greenhouse and toxic gases are released into the air effectively compromising the conditions. This threatens sustainability as it affects the earth’s capacity as a natural habitat to Homo sapiens and other organisms. Finally, sustainability cannot be discussed without mentioning the now tricky subject of waste disposal. The use of technologically advanced resources including nuclear has complicated the equation on waste disposal. Sustainability calls for a cautious approach towards disposal of wastes so as not to compromise the lives of current and future generations.
Effects on the global market
The most affected class of persons or community by sustainability is the business community. Of course, at the international scale, the question reverts to the global market. How exactly does sustainability affect the global market? This question already assumes that the global market is affected. Indeed, sustainability calls for the global market players to relay their strategies and set them in tandem with the dictates of sustainability. What this implies is that no longer can a global player operate in isolation or complete oblivion of sustainability principles. Players must tailor their work in congruence with accepted practices and acknowledge the roles of corporate social responsibility towards a sustainable market environment. The flipside in this new requirement is that it increases the operating costs especially for global players who have to shed off more of their incomes towards ensuring a sustainable market.
In addition, the global market has had to grapple with new stipulations manifested in legislations in domestic law regimes and international declarations under the auspices of world environmental bodies and lobby groups. This has complicated the equation as to comprehensive operations in different jurisdictions for the simple reason that in most cases the compliance requirements are not necessarily similar from one jurisdiction to another. Coca cola is an example of a multinational company that is keen on sustainability.
Coca cola Company
The company happens to be one of the biggest global market players. In fact, it boasts of the having the bragging rights as among the few that occupied all the continents in the world. Coca cola have a comprehensive sustainability programme spearheaded by the office of chief sustainability officer. In addition to just having a whole department reserved for the course of sustainability, Coca cola also reserve a portion of their budget annually for activities dedicated to the course of sustainability. In addition, the company has an elaborate plan christened the Vision 2020 in which it lays the conditions to be met within a definite timeline for purposes of actualizing sustainability.
One may ask what exactly are contained in the company’s sustainability plan. The list is long and without being exhaustive includes the following: attaining water conservation, protection of the climate and natural resources, introduction of recycling options especially the plant bottle packages method, sourcing of ingredients, availing education on major topics of concern such as nutrition and granting of sustainability grants to various individuals and institutions.
Sustainability has, therefore, positively impacted on the company. It has not only occasioned a restructuring of the departmental organization of the company, but has equally led to a restructuring of the company strategies. It is noteworthy that for Coca cola, it is not a question of addressing legal requisites. From the way in which it is being adopted, one sees the inspiration as a question of addressing the moral and ethical concerns. This is the trajectory that is expected of other companies in the global market. The activities of Coca cola in relation to sustainability infer that it indeed recognises the special seat that sustainability occupies in the market both current and in the future. Every other company is advised to pick and follow the cue.
In conclusion, it remains essential to underscore the prerequisites of sustainability. It is predicated on the concept of conservation, efficient use of resources and a deliberate attempt to strike a compromise between the dual and contrasting goals of development and future or long term interests. The stakes are high and it is expected that stakeholders, just like Coca cola, will soon come out strongly to actualize the concept of sustainability. The fact that this paper deliberately focuses on the global market players does not extinguish the common citizen and governments from responsibility. The two, also equally, share the burden of ensuring that sustainability is practical and does not exist merely on paper. The discourse on sustainability should continue to enable spread of the message.
Works Cited
CampusEnvironmentalCentre. "What does sustainability mean to you?" CampusEnvironmentalCentre (2012).
Deneen, Sally. "Sustainability." The Daily Green (2011).
Rodwell, Wanda. "52 New Sustainability Grants from The Coca-Cola Foundation Will Benefit 19 Million People in 21 Countries." Wall Street Journal (2012).
Shayon, Sheila. "Why Coca-Cola Sees Sustainability as Critical to Brand Growth." Brandchannel (2012).
Zmuda, Natalie. "Coke Names North American CMO Chief Sustainability Officer." AdvertisingAge (2011).
